Finding Mr Right
by Total-Book-Slut
Summary: Bella, Alice, and Rosalie are sick of the stupid men they date. The boring, shallow ones. When Bella meets her 'perfect' man, he seems to be hiding a secret. Can she warm him up to figure out what's under the facade? Cannon, AH/AU/OOC Lemons later.
1. The Worst Dates EVER!

**Hello. This is a story that I came up with and wanted to write it. But PLEASE KNOW that the first 10 chapters or so will just be Edward and Bella romance and stuff; she won't figure out Edward's hiding a secret until a little later. This is just so I can make the story a bit longer. =] Thank you for choosing to read this story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters. I don't want you to believe so, in order to save some trouble for people. Namely, me.**

Chapter 1

It was about twelve o'clock at night, or should I say morning?-- but here I was still sitting on the couch of my loft that I shared with Rosalie and Alice, my two best friends. I felt like some over protective parent, because I was sitting there, waiting for them to come back from their dates. They left at about the same time to go out with these arrogant pretty-boys. They had tried to set me up on a date, but I said no. I didn't know how many times they forced me into blind dates, but I put my foot down. They were always these ass heads that always expected me to pay for my part of the date, like the food I ordered. It was so annoying. Alice and Rose had tried to set me up with the one of the guys' friends, but I said no. So now here I was, sitting here, watching the movie Halloween, the one with Micheal Meyers, on our big, flat screen tv.

I didn't know why I watched these movies, but I had a strange addiction to horror movies. Every time it was close to Halloween, October 31, (which was 2 weeks away from now), I always watched these movies. Sometimes I would watch Scream, but I liked Halloween much better. It was way more creepy. But now I would have to pay the price.

All of the lights were off, and I sat in my pajama's and a blanket around me, with popcorn. I kept my eyes glues to the screen and stuffed my face with popcorn. It was at the part where Mike finds her in the closet and was hacking it open. I leaned forward and said "Come on! Don't just sit there!". I tended to talk to the characters in movies. It was a weird habit of mine.

This was the exact kind of night where I should not be watching this junk, because it was pouring buckets outside, and the thunder was really loud. I was pretty sure that the only source of light that was coming from the house was the tv.

Just then, the thunder made a big _BANG_ sound, and all the lights went out. I jumped up and let out a yelp. I looked around and saw that everything was completely dark. I gathered my blankets around me and picked up my popcorn bowl to bring it around with me. I would have to go to the cellar and turn on the back up light; Alice and Rosalie taught me how to do that. I crept around the sofa in my pink slippers, long flannel white pajama pants and my pink tank. I popped my head around the corner to see if anyone was there. It was silly; of course no one was there. I was all alone. Or was I...? I shook my head and walked a little faster.

It was really hard to see in the dark, but I knew this complex through and through. Alice, Rosalie and I have lived in this place ever since we had finished college. When we met in California, we became best friends instantly. Rosalie Hale, Alice Brandon, and Isabella Swan, the three best friends. (Although I only liked to be called Bella.) People knew that we were inseparable. Most of the time, though, the boys would drool over Rosalie and Alice. Of course, they were absolutely beautiful. They were both pale and gorgeous. Alice was short and had glossy short black hair that was always spiked, and was thin to the extreme. She was me and Rose's little beautiful pixie. Rosalie was tall and slender, and had long, wavy, golden locks that had me writhing with jealousy. They were both so beautiful. I was nothing compared to them. Just plain Jane. I had long chocolate brown hair with chocolate brown as, also pale, whereas Alice had pretty hazel eyes, and Rosalie had superior looking clear blue eyes. Both so beautiful. _Everything_ about them was perfect. I was just 5'4, self conscious, and clumsy. I never cared so much about what other people thought about me, but I still did care some. Who doesn't? We had moved back here in Forks, Washington, because Alice missed her home. Rosalie and I weren't very happy about it because we loved the sun, and it rained 24/7 over here, but she gave us the puppy dog face. Lord knows that we couldn't resist _that._

You wouldn't believe how long it took to find a place to live. Alice, who was addicted to shopping, wouldn't settle for something that was just _good._ She wanted a home that represented _amazing_. When we found this loft, Alice looked around it and asked us our opinion (which she wouldn't care if we didn't like it, though) and bought it. Alice and Rosalie had both come from wealthy family's, so they paid for it. They ignored my protests about it not being fair that I couldn't pay anything. But if I was being honest with myself, I would _never_ afford anything like this.

As I was walking, I stubbed my two and about cracked my head on the wall. I spilled some popcorn and bent down to pick the pieces up, but froze when I thought I heard a sound. I was all the way in the back of our huge loft, so a person could hide anywhere.

"Hello?" I called out tentatively. Another sound. It was a banging sound, very light. But it was definitely something. And this was why I shouldn't watch scary movies alone.

I walked through the hallway to the bathroom, down the step that lead to the rooms, and turned into our study. It had all the our laptops and all the essential research things. Books and all that. I went through the back door of that and walk slowly to the kitchen.

"Is anyone there?" I called out again. My voice was a hushed whisper. There was light knock on the door and loud foot steps outside. It was raining pretty hard so I had to strain my ears. I walked back into the living room slowly and watched the door. I put a piece of popcorn in my mouth. **(A/N I just had to do that! ha ha)** With the bright lightning outside, I could see shadows at the bottom of the door. I braced myself, and just then, the door flew open.

"Ugh! The worst date _ever!_ I didn't even get offered an umbrella!" a voice yelled, aggravated. I screamed so loud, that I was surprised it came from my own throat. The popcorn bowl flew out of my hands and into the air, which showered me with popcorn.

"Bella. Bella! Are you ok?" Rosalie's voice said, and walked over to me. She put and arm around me (which was sopping, I noted) and shushed me.

"Yeesh, Bella! You really _screamed_," Rosalie said. I put a hand on my racing heart and took calming breaths.

"Sorry. I was watching Halloween, and then the lights went out, and I thought I heard something, so..." I tried to explain. Rosalie sighed and took my hand, to lead me down to the cellar. She was so brave; she didn't even pause to look around the corners to see if anyone was there. But then again, she wasn't being paranoid after watching one of the scariest shows ever made. **(A/N that's my opinion, very scary...)** She opened the door to the cellar and pulled me down the stairs with her. She walked over to the power box and pulled up a lever. I stared at her in awe. I loved how she was so brave. That was another thing I was jealous about. Suddenly, I heard the tv come back on. The main character was screaming loud. I hadn't realized how loud I had the tv on. She raised her eyebrows at me.

"Come on," she said and led me back over to the living room. She turned on the lights and flipped off the tv. She turned to look at me.

"Sit," she ordered. I obeyed; when she told you to do something, you do it. "What did Alice and I say about watching scary movies?"

"Uhhmm..." I was at a loss to say for words. I had forgotten that they had told me to not watch scary movies anymore. I forgot why, though...

"Bella, do you remember what happened last time?" she asked slowly. I shook my head. "Alice and I were on a date, around this time last year, and you watched a scary movie. A _raccoon _was digging around in the bushes, and you thought it was a murderer. You called the cops, which caused a _lot_ of disturbance. You remember?" she told me. I nodded, remembering. Now that I thought about it, it was sort of funny. I got the phone and screamed really loud, locking all of the doors. I called the police, saying it was an emergency, that there was a murderer. That was when I watched Scream. That was such a crazy night. The cops came rushing over and got out their guns out, called Alice and Rosalie, and by the time they came, they looked in the bushes where I told them that I heard something, and found a raccoon. The police were pretty pissed. Alice and Rosalie and thrown away every scary movie we owned, but didn't remember we had cable.

"Yes," I said sheepishly, blushing. The door burst in, and Alice walked in, soaking wet, just like Rosalie. Her expression was murderous. Now I was a bit afraid of what she would do when Rosalie told her.

"Ugh! I am _so_ mad! If I ever have to face on of those idiot men again... I swear..." Alice said angrily.

"Oh! So the same thing happened to you?" Rosalie asked, distracted. Even though they were both wet, they both looked so pretty. I narrowed my eyes; I was sure I would look like a drowned cat if that happened to me.

"Yes! It was so annoying. He just said--" Alice was saying, but Rosalie cut her off.

"We'll talk about that later. But Bella, over hear, has been watching scary movies again," she said and pointed a finger at me. I cringed into the couch, as if I had been stabbed by that finger. Alice pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips.

"You have? Did you not listen to us last year?" Alice asked, mad. Did they _have _to keep mentioning that? That was so embarrassing.

"Yes, I did," I snapped. "I was just bored and forgot. Yeesh, it's not like I called the cops again. I just screamed when Rosalie walked in, that's all,"

"Well, we all know how you always think that movies are real, that Micheal Meyers is around the corner waiting to kill you with a bloody knife," Alice snapped back.

"I do not!" I protested. They both raised an eyebrow. I sighed. "Fine, but I don't think it's real. I'm just paranoid. Because it _is _true that someone could be waiting for you around the corner, to kill you, so it just opens my eyes a little,"

They rolled their eyes. "No more, Bella." Alice said sternly. Rosalie and her stalked off to their rooms, their high heels clickity-clacking on the wooden floor. I listened until their footsteps faded up the stairs. It was always a big deal if I watched a scary movie, because, truth be told, I sort of did think it was real. They just didn't like it when I was scared. But I pushed aside the stupid move thoughts, and thought about what kind of boy had the nerve to make Alice and Rosalie mad. I mean, they usually tried to make them happy; give them whatever they liked. But... hmm.. I would have to find out.

Alice and Rosalie walked in the room with their night shorts and tanks, with blankets of their own. Alice paused by the popcorn on the floor.

"We are going to have to clean that up later. Mice and bugs will come, and I can't stand them," Alice said. She sat on my right, while Rosalie sat on my left. We cuddled in our blankets and leaned into each other.

"So do you want to tell me what happened?" I asked curiously. Alice's head was on my lap, (I was stroking her hair) and Rose had her head leaned on my shoulder, breathing on my neck. They usually had to comfort me when I was self conscious, but times like these, they needed me. They weren't used to boys treating them badly, I was sure. So that's where my comforting came in.

"My stupid date was awful to me," Alice whined. I patted her head.

"What happened?"

"Well, he seemed really nice and took me out to dinner. But guess where he took me? To Cici's Pizza! It was really dumb. When the person asked for the money, he said, 'You need to pitch in 10 dollars, ok?'. So I'm glad I always bring money on dates. He found us a table and told me to get him 5 pizza's, while he got the drinks. What a pig! How he has the nerve to tell me to do that... So I got him some pizza's, and let me tell you, the pizza's looked nasty, and watched him eat it.

"He didn't even get me a drink! I got up and got a salad and water, and watched him. He didn't say anything but pig out. When he looked up, he said 'Aren't you hungry?' and I said, 'Why? Are you going to get me something?'. He just shrugged and said, 'It just looks like you need some food in you'. How dare he!" she wailed. Alice was not at all too skinny. She wasn't even flat chested. "Then all he did was talk about himself and how perfect he was, with his mouth full! I got all dressed up for _that. _So when he finished his plate, he didn't care if he offended me and asked me if I would get him another plate! I just stood up and left. So I walked home, in my stinking heals. My clothes are officially ruined!" she leaned onto my lap and screamed. It was a frustrated scream, because I knew how she loved her clothes.

"That stupid jerk. Almost the same thing with me," Rosalie said, hiding her face in the crook of my neck. "He took me to a movie, but wouldn't stop texting his stupid friends. You know my certain... charm I like to work on people when they are being asses?" she asked. Alice and I nodded. We knew; she would put on her sexiest smile and lean into a guy and whisper seductively in his ear. It _always _worked. "He still ignored me! So when the movie was over, I tried to talk to him about it. He didn't even say anything except 'Uh-huh' and didn't look at me. So I tested him to see if he was paying attention to me and started to flirt with another guy. When I did, he was all territorial. So when the guy left, he went back to texting.

"I just stared at him until he looked at me. He didn't. He took me to dinner, but talked on the phone the whole time. He made me pay for my half, and drove me home. When we got here, though, he dropped me off at the far end of the drive way," she said. Our drive way seemed to go on for miles, but it wasn't, so that was bad that he dropped her off that far. "And to top it all off, he didn't offer me an umbrella or to walk me to the door! I tried to say bye, but he drove off as soon as the door was closed! I tried so hard to be nice... he is so lucky I didn't punch him right then," she finished. I was actually surprised myself that she was so nice like that. She was never one to whine; she demanded attention. And when someone did not give that to her, she would put up a fit.

"Why didn't you be rude? It's not like you to let a man be like that with you," I said.

"Because I thought that he might actually finish his crap sooner or later and talk to me, and I didn't want to scare him off," she said.

"Isn't that so like men, though?" Alice said. "They act so charming when you first meet them, but when you actually get to know them, they are such asses! Their true colors show,"

"Yes! Exactly! Why isn't there a decent man out there, anyway?" Rosalie agreed.

"I don't know, but it's like men are the total opposite of what they pretend to be. They are all the same. Most of the time they just want sex," I said. These days, guys were such man-whores.

"They think it's so cool to be a player and whatnot, but its not. Supposedly your cool if you get laid by some whore. Ugh!" Rosalie said. "If only our dream guy would be real..."

"What _is _your dream guy, anyway, Rose?" I asked her.

She thought for a minute. "Well, he would have to be good-looking first of all. Has to have muscles, because I don't like when they are weaker than I am. He has to be nice and tall, but not as tall as a sky scraper. I want him to have a good sense of humor, and can take a joke easily. He wouldn't be serious all the time, because it's good to have someone fun around. When I want him to be romantic, he will be. If I tell him to do something, he won't always do it, because I don't like pushovers. He would be man enough to stand up to me. If I were to get hurt, he would stick up for me or help me. He wouldn't blow me off for his friends, and listen to me when I need to talk to him. I wouldn't have to fight for his attention, he would listen to me when I need him," Rosalie said. She sighed and her eyes glazed over. "What about you, Alice?"

"I want him taller than me. So if I can't reach something, he could get it for me," she said with a giggle, but then got more serious. "I want his eyes a pretty blue, so I could stare into his eyes and just get lost in them. When I need a hug, he will give it to me. When I am down, he will be sensitive enough to help me through bad times when you girls aren't there. His hair would be a honey blond, soft enough that I could run my hands through it. He wouldn't be bulky, but have muscles. I would need someone to carry my shopping bags! When I need a good laugh, he would give it to me. He would appreciate me and everything I do. He wouldn't be afraid to say he loves me in public and kiss me," she sighed dreamily and turned to me. "What about you? What kind of man would be prefect enough for you?"

I thought for a second. I have never thought about that before. I just wished some Fabio would come and sweep me up in his arms and take me off to some beautiful island. "Hmm... his face would be pretty to look at, so he should be handsome. One of us should be looking good out of the both of us. Anyway, he would catch me when I fall, and help me with messes I make with my clumsy-ness. Just like Alice said, he wouldn't be afraid to declare his love to me in front of the whole world. He would wear me on his arm like I was a prize, and not be afraid to show me off to his friends. He would be taller than me, and have green eyes. His body would be nicely built, not too burly, but definitely some muscles. He should find my clumsy-ness endearing, because god knows _I _don't. He would be charming, and be funny and sweet. He would never get tired of me, and of helping me. He would love me for who I am," I said. That was pretty much how I could sum it up.

"Too bad our descriptions are too much to ask in a guy," Rosalie said with a sad sigh. We lay there cuddled into each other and fantasized about our dream men.

"One of these days, we need to find Mr. Right," Alice said.

"Yeah. Yeah, we should. What an experience that would be," Rosalie said.

"I know. But I don't know... if we _tried, _we might find at least someone that fits half of our descriptions," I insisted. Alice perked up.

"Yes! I think it should be our goal..." Alice mused. She loved things like this. She was very ambitious.

"Really, Alice. You think it wouldn't be a waste of time?" I asked her uncertainly. The men around here weren't the best ones around.

"Yes, Bella. Don't you get tired of just sitting here, wishing for that perfect man? I think we should do something about it. Because it's not like that man would set out to look for _us_. We need to do something about it. I refuse to go on anther bogus date; I want love. Not just like, but LOVE. So I declare we find out Mr. Right," Alice said. Rosalie and I thought about this.

"Ok," we agreed at the same time. Alice sighed happily and settled her head back on my lap. The lights were already off, so we just sat there: me lounging on the sofa with Rosalie curled up into my side with her head in the crook of my neck, and Alice's head on my lap. It made me feel good that I could comfort them like this.

So we just lay there, drifting to sleep with thoughts about our perfect men.

**There it is. I had so much fun writing this. Please review; it motivates me. I would like to thank LivForLove because she inspired me, and I hope she likes this story better than the other one! Just so you know, I will be working on this one more than the other one, unless you want otherwise. Review now, I'll update as soon as I can!**

**You know I love you,**

**Lucy  
**


	2. Ruby Tuesday?

**Hi my peoples!**

**I am ubber happy with all of the reviews! Well, someone wants me to continue How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. I would feel really bad if that happened to me, so for her, I will also be working on that story. But... I will work on this the most often, because I don't want to write 2 stories at a time. Alright, people, here is the second chapter for you! Oh! Wait! I would like to thank IheartTHEcullens because she said I was "extremely pretty"! Thank you so much! Also to LivForLove because she is my sweetheart ha ha her review really got my typing away! Thank you every one, your reviews were so helpful! I also changed the rating to M, because.. well, you'll see. Anyway, inspiration has just struck me, so here you are! You know you love me...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I wish. But do our wishes always come true..?..**

Chapter 2

"You know I love you," a guy whispered to me. Ok, all I knew was that this was a dream, and I was dreaming about my dream guy.

"I love you, too," I whispered back. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me passionately, as if to prove that he was the only one for me. Yes, I wanted to tell him. You are. The way his lips moved with mine seemed like they were made for each other. His lips were as soft as a whisper, teasing a bit. I bit his lower lip while he...

"Ouch! Ugh!" Alice's voice interrupted my wonderful dream. I groaned. For the love of all that's holy! It was just getting good.

"God, Alice," I said and threw a cushion at her stretching form. "I was having a good dream!"

"Same here, but my freaking neck hurts! Ow! We will _never _sleep like that again! It is not good for my body! Wakes me up during a good dream..." Alice muttered and stalked into the kitchen. I stood up, which made Rose's head drop.

"Huh? Ow..." Rosalie said. "Oh, my back!"

"Yeah, Alice had the same problem," I said and bent down to touch my toes, then bent backward to stretch my back. I could hear the muscles popping. I gathered my blankets around me and yawned.

"I'm gonna get a cup of coffee," I told Rosalie and went into the kitchen. Alice had turned on the coffee thing **(a/n i have no idea what that's called...) **and was putting toast in the toaster. She was just talking on her phone, but flipped it shut when I came in. I sat down at our little table and put my head in my hands. My head was pounding and I felt like I was hung over for some reason. Alice sat by me and rubbed my back.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked me.

"Oh, my head just feels like crap. I think I might need some Aspirin," I said and went over to the cabinet that had all of our medicines and took out 2 Aspirins. I got out a cup and filled it with water. I popped in the pills and washed it out with the water. I did not know why my head hurt this bad.

The smell of the coffee boiling filled the kitchen. I went to the fridge and got out a jug of milk and the stuff you put in your coffee to make it brown. I hated black coffee. I loved it sweet. I went over to the cabinet and got out the sugar, and 3 coffee mugs.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" I asked Alice while I poured coffee into the three mugs.

"I was just talking to that one guy Mike Newton, you remember him from college?" she told me.

"Yeah," I said cautiously. He was friends with this guy named Tyler who used to go out with me. When I broke up with Tyler, he kept sending me phone pictured of himself, saying that we belonged together. I shuddered. But Mike is genuinely nice. He really seemed to like me back then. "You talked to him?"

"Well, he called me. Do you remember how nice he was? He called to see if you were free today," she said. "He wants to bring you to lunch. I said that you would go, because what else is there to do today? I don't think he will be as bad as me and Rose's dates,"

"So you agreed to this without talking to me about it first?"

"Come on, Bella!"

I didn't really like Mike that much. Sure, he was nice. But he seemed perverted at the same time. All he wanted was what every man wanted.

But I needed to cooperate.

"Fine."

"Good! Just go get ready; I trust that you will make yourself look decent," Alice said while stirring sugar into her coffee.

"Why aren't you going to dress me up? That is not like you to not," I said curiously.

"Because we both have to go shopping for some things for Jessica. She needs us to get some supplies for her Halloween party," Rosalie's voice said behind me. "I don't know why she is getting stuff now. We have 2 more weeks until Halloween. Anyway, we know that you wouldn't enjoy that, so we didn't want to bring you," I looked behind me and saw that Rose's hair was damp, and she was in a silk robe. She went and picked her coffee and poured some milk in it. She put the milk jug back on the island and took a long drink. I hated how pretty she looked.

"So go get in the shower, please, Bella," Alice said. I sighed and drank down the rest of the coffee and went off into the bathroom.

We each had our own bathroom, and then a regular bathroom upstairs. I turned on the bath water and waited for it to warm up while I brushed my teeth. I looked at myself in the mirror.

My lips were looking a little more pouty than usual. It was probably because I would have to go on an excruciating date with Mike. My neck looked stiff, and my eyes had bags underneath them. Oh, god. My hair was as wild as it could get. My mouth tasted like bile. Using mouth wash made it all better. I stripped off my clothes and got into the shower.

The hot water felt nice on my skin, like easing away the pain from sleeping on the stinking couch.

Maybe I could get used to Mike. It's not like I would have to spend the rest of my life with him. Right? Hmm... I knew what it was like to dream about the perfect man. Touching him and it would feel like I was being electrocuted. When we would kiss, we would both feel the passion. Just like that. What would the story be like?

He was a boy, I was a girl. Can I make it any more obvious? He was a god, I was a clumsy girl. What more can I say? He wanted me, but I couldn't tell. Secretly I wanted him as well. **(a/n that rhymes! and yes I realize it's like the song S8ter Boi by Avril. that's what i want it to be like! some of it. lol) **All of his friends stuck up their noses, had a problem with me. I had a nice face, but I was out of this world, and needed to come back down to earth. And then through all of this forbidden love, we make it through. It wouldn't matter what his friends or my friends would think, we would run away together and just... love each other. But was life ever so simple? No. Because life isn't ever so easy.

Life was where everyone tried to follow what everyone else was doing. And what bothered me was the guys' trend. Yeah, go after a girl. Pursue her if you life. But a message to guys is, do you realize how they get ready for you? Make their selves look pretty for you when they don't know that what you want is to just sleep with them. Girls waste too much effort and time for the pigs. Why does life revolve around guys? A hysterical laugh escaped my lips. So many questions!

I quickly turned off the shower and put on my robe that went only up to my thigh. Ah, Alice. I opened the door and went into my room. I opened up my closet, realizing that Alice and Rosalie had left already, so they wouldn't be able to help me with my clothes.

I sighed and grabbed a pair of jeans that Alice had forced into my closet, (literally) and a gray, long sleeved shirt. **(pic of that on my profile)**

I hurried and blow dried my hair and put this cream in it so it wouldn't be all poofy when I was done blow drying it. I didn't bother with the make up, so I pulled on a pair of converse, put on my jacket, got my keys, and went out the door.

Wait. Where was I supposed to meet him?

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Alice's number.

"Alice speaking!" her voice said brightly into the phone. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Alice, I'm all ready, but I don't know where to meet him!"

"Oh my god! Sorry! Meet him at.. umm... where was it? Oh yeah! Ruby Tuesday!" she giggled into the phone. "Yep, that's what I said. Who goes there for lunch? Anyway, just be nice, Bella."

"Yeah, yeah. Now I think I will have to suffer one of those horrendous dates you two are always on. I thought we are over this!"

"We are. Rose and I don't like Mike either, but we didn't want to leave you home alone. Call us if there are any troubles, sweetie! Love you, bye!" she said and hung up before I could say anything else.

God dammit! So they just agreed to make me go on this date just so they could go shopping without me? This was so not like them, and they were so going to pay. I stormed out the door and went to my trusty old Chevy truck.

I drove over to the Ruby Tuesday that was the only one in town and pulled into the parking lot. There was Mike, waving his hands eagerly to me. Oh yes, I thought. They are going to pay.

**APOV**

"I feel sort of bad doing this to Bella!" I said to Rose.

"Yeah, well, get over it, because if we want to pull this off, we can't always be in touch with our soft side," she shot back. I sighed. So Rose and I wanted to pull some kind of trick. We were going to throw the most extreme party in history, and it would take a lot of planning, so we decided to do it early. Yes, this early. But planning takes time!

We knew Bella would not approve, because we were going to invite anyone who's anyone, and make it a sexy party.

And, when all the people would be there, would could look for men! Perfect, I know. But that was only if we couldn't find some guy before the party. It would still be on, because who doesn't want to throw a Halloween party?

It was all too perfect to be true when Mike called. He would be sure to keep Bella out for a while, so we could do a lot of planning. But I did feel bad about it. Making Bella go out on a date with _Mike?_ I loved Bella dearly, and so did Rose, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do, even though just last night we said we wouldn't date anymore men like that. Poor Bella!

"Now let's go into that party store, they are sure to have good decorations!" Rosalie squealed, so we both ran into there, our credit cards ready.

**BPOV (now you know why Bella is on the date with vile Mike! Alice and Rose feel bad about it!)**

"Hey, Bella! It's so good to see you! I mean, I have thought about you a lot since college! Well, ever since college, I have been thinking about becoming a sports reporter. Although, I do want to play football, what do you think? I think it would be fun to do either one, but I have to think about it. Anyway, I..." and so he rambled on about himself. When did it come from "Hi Bella I've thought a lot about you" to "Wow I'm the greatest person in the world, bow down to me"? I sighed, willing myself to be nice.

And I thought we were over dating these stupid men!

Mike stayed pretty close to my side the whole time, like we were already a couple. I would have to remind him that this was just a FRIENDLY reunion.

"Hi, welcome to Ruby Tuesday, will you need seats for just you two?" the hostess asked. Oh god, RUBY TUESDAY! Who in the hell went here for lunch?!

"Yeah," Mike said, trying to sound smooth. I guess it was the fact that she was blond and beautiful. Typical.

She lead us to a small table in a dining area, that had a lot of people surrounding us. Ok, I thought. I guess a lot of people come here for lunch. Stupid people.

"Your waiter will be here in just a minute," she said, turning around, not noticing Mike giving her a parting wink. I mean, come on! He might think that this was a date with me, but did he honestly think that he could just flirt with other girls? Not that I cared, but, really! How rude of him!

"So, I am glad that we are having this friendly get together," I said, hoping that he would catch that I didn't like him more than a friend, even though I didn't even like him like that. "This way we can... catch up,"

"Yeah," Mike said, not getting it. Just in time, the waitress came over to us.

She handed us our menus. "Hi, my name is Angela, and I'll be your waiter for today," she said and smiled warmly. I smiled back. "What can I get for you?"

"Uhm.." I said and quickly chose the first thing on the menu. "Just a steak, please," I said, know I probably wouldn't be eating it. I never liked this restaurant. Their meat was disgusting; I only liked the salads. But in here, you have to get your own salad, so I didn't order that. **(i have actually never went to Ruby Tuesdays. I'm just making this up as I go...)**

"Ok," she said and wrote that down. She turned to Mike. "And what will you have?"

"I think I'll have a steak with the peppers and seasoning, **(like i said, im just making this up as i go...) **with the 2 salmon and rices. Bring some lemons, too, please," he said.

"Well, you do realize that the meat and fish are both one meal only each, so you'll be having two plates?" Angela asked curiously.

"Yes, I am aware of that," Mike said and handed her his menu. Mike's phone beeped, so he went out and got it. Oh, god. Please, I prayed, please don't let this be like Rose's date.

Angela turned to me with a questioning gaze, as if to ask, _'Why this pig?'_

I shook my head, checked if we was looking, and wiggled my index finger, for her to lean in.

"I don't even like him. My friends are making me go out with him," I whispered into her ear, thanking god that Mike was busy texting away.

Angela stared at me with sincere eyes. "I'm sorry. Really," she said and patted my back. "I'll be right back with your orders," she said louder and walked away.

"Sorry about that, just an urgent text," Mike said and put his phone on the table, but it was facing me. The message was still up, but Mike didn't seem to notice, because I was looking over his shoulder at the waitress.

I was really never that nosy, but it was too perfect. I peaked over at the screen. It read:

_'Dude, can't talk. On a date with that hot babe Bella. Remember her? Hoping to get lucky sometime. Cross your fingers for me, bro. I'll call you later.  
__-M'_

Dammit! So now I was some 'hot babe' that was going to get him laid? Hell no! I made a disgusted noise and sat back in my chair with a _humph._

Mike looked over at me. "Huh?" he asked, then seemed to think I was mad at him for staring at the hostess. I couldn't care less. "Oh, umm... I was looking at the... s-sign thingy over there. See? It's cool, isn't it," he said lamely.

I smiled a fake smile at him.

Not to long later, Angela came, bless her. Mike was launching into a story about him and Tyler sneaking into the principles office. _Wow, _I thought sarcastically, _how bad-ass of you._

"Here you are," Angela said and set down our plates in front of us. Of course, Mike had two. They were both full. The fish was humongous, and had little lettuce leaves around it, and since there was two on the plate, they were both falling on the plate. A lemon sat on each of them, and it was really peppered up. The stake itself was also fat, and they added the rice to that plate, since the other one was too full.

I looked at my own plate. It looked empty compared to his. It basically was, since it just had one steak on it.

"Here are your cups, and the manager said that we are too busy to be getting our guests some drinks so you will have to get it yourself with that over there," she said and pointed at the thing where there were multiple drink choices. That was harsh. Angela giggled. "I wasn't supposed to tell you guys that. But," she said, but this was directed toward me, "you seem like good people, so I could get it for you myself, if you like,"

How sweet. "Ye-" Mike was about to say yes, but I cast him a dark look.

"No," I said firmly. "You seem busy enough, and I don't want to make it worse. Thank you for offering, though,"

"It's quite alright. Enjoy your food, and if you need anything, I'll be over there," she said quietly and pointed toward a little booth. "That is, unless I am too busy," She giggled again. She waved at us and walked away. I smiled. She was really nice. She seemed shy, because her voice was quite, but seemed genuinely nice and funny.

"So where was I?" Mike said with his mouth full. "Oh yeah. We had to get a little clip so we could open the door, the old school way, since it was locked..." and he rambled on again. I sat there like and idiot, just watching how gross he was, noticing that food flew out of his mouth every time he talked. I cocked my head to one side. How would he think that I would sleep with _him?_

When he moved onto his fishes, I couldn't take it. My sight was blinded with his grossness, so I said, "Um, I have to use the little girls room," I giggled a little, realizing that sounded weird. Little girls room? Ha.

I pushed my chair back and tucked it back in, starting toward the bathroom. I scanned a bit, but then Angela spotted me. She rushed over to me.

"Is everything ok with the food?" she asked, concerned. She was very kind.

"No," I reassured her. "But the guy I was with is killing me, so I need to find the restroom so I can call my friends to pick me up,"

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry he is so annoying," she said, meaning it. "But, if you can't get a ride, I could take you. My shift is over in about 10 minutes, anyways," she offered. I smiled.

"It's ok. My friends owe me. Thank you for offering though. You've been so kind,"

"You just seem like a nice person. But, really, if you need a ride, I could take you home,"

"I'll keep that in mind if my friends don't answer," I said, feeling happy. This girl was really nice. I hugged her before I could stop myself. Where did that come from?

She returned the hug and waved at me. "The bathroom is around the corner," she called. I looked over my shoulder at her and smiled, and gave her a thumbs up. She giggled.

While I was walking, I pulled out my cell phone. It was stuck, so I looked down at my pocket and jerked it out. All of a sudden, I slammed into someone.

I closed my eyes, waiting for me to hit the floor. But I didn't. **(cliche, yay!!)**

I kept my eyes closed, but felt two pairs of strong arms constrict around me, holding me up. I looked up.

I was looking up into a pair of beautiful, twinkling, green eyes. The guys' hair was a bronze, tousled, messy, disarray. It looked like sex hair, and it looked sexy. His face was so beautiful that my ego dropped 10 points. From his perfect and smooth forehead, down his slender and perfect nose, his full lips, and angled chin and cheekbones, his face was perfect. A face of an angle. So beautiful.

"Woah, there. Be careful now," he warned, his voice perfect and velvet. It was smooth and hypnotizing, and right in my ear. His voice was like a soft lullaby.

"OH! Wow, I'm such a freaking dork!" I blurted out. Smooth move, Bella, I thought to myself. Why couldn't I say anything alluring? I was probably even more of a turn off because I was blushing about 15 shades of red. I probably look like a tomato head, I amused myself.

"No," he murmured, his musical voice amused. He took his arms from under me and stood me up straight, and put his hands on my shoulders as if to see if I could stand up straight. He dropped his arms when he thought I could stand still. Oh boy, I was most likely going to faint, though. I was light headed. "Why were you in such a hurry?"

"Oh, uhhhhh," I said. I had to think of something quick, other wise he would think I was a head case. But he was staring right at me, interested. It was hard not to be a million miles away with someone that beautiful staring at you. My heart stuttered. I shook my head. "I wasn't really in a hurry, but I am usually clumsy like that. My phone was stuck in my pocket, and um, I needed to call my friends because if this impossibly boring guy..." I trailed off. Why was I telling him about my stupid "date"? I would probably scare him off even further.

But he smiled a breath taking smile. His teeth were perfect and white. My heart started to beat faster than usual. He grinned even wider. I wondered if he could hear my heart beat... 'cause it sure as heck was loud.

"Really? Well, sorry if I am in your way. But my friends dragged me here, but I didn't want to come. I mean, who eats lunch at Ruby Tuesday?" he asked, incredulous.

I snapped my fingers. "I know what you mean! The food here isn't even that good, anyways,"

"Yeah, this wouldn't be my choice of place to eat, either. Anyway, sorry to be in your way, I know you must be dying to get out of here, and especially that you are here with and 'impossibly boring guy'," he chuckled. I flushed crimson.

"Very funny. Thanks for catching me,"

"Oh, it was my pleasure," he said and smiled a crooked smile at me. I gasped; it was so beautiful. His smile faltered.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," I blushed. When he stepped to the right, he did too. It was one of those awkward times when you always took the step they took. We did that a few times, but then he just stopped and let me pass by.

"Thank you," I said shyly.

He smiled. "You're welcome," he said. I waved and turned towards the bathroom. I walked in and checked under the stalls to see if anyone was there. Nope. But, I thought, why would it matter if anyone was there? I was becoming paranoid, I guessed. Scary movies can do that to you.

I dialed Alice's number and tapped my foot impatiently while it rang.

"Alice Brandon speaking!" she chippered into the phone. I scowled.

"I want to go home now! He is HORRIBLE! He keeps talking about himself! And there we were talking last night about how we were finished dating the stupid men! Oh, so did that just apply to you? So just let poor old Bella date all the crappy men while you two get the good ones? You know--" I was ranting.

Alice cut me off. "Bella! Ok, you are not on a date, remember? And what we talked about yesterday did apply to you too. We are really sorry that you are out with that stupid jerk. But it is sort of necessary AND I won't tell why because it's a secret! Anyway, why don't you just drive home right now?"

"Because I'm not mean, so I'm not just going to leave just like that,"

"Make up a story! Just tell him that, umm, I am having an asthma attack and I need you by my side right away!" she giggled into the phone.

I sighed. "You'd better hope that works. Because when you get home, I am going to yell at you like you have never heard!"

"God, Bella, don't let your panties get in a bunch. Why don't you meet us over at the food court over here, anyway? I know you probably already ate, but we haven't..."

"I'll come. I didn't eat anything, because I was too disgusted. Mike eats and talks at the same time! It's so gross! The only good things that happened is that I made friends with a waitress, and I ran into a gorgeous guy," I blurted out the last part on accident.

"WHAT?! When?! How?! He's gorgeous?!" she squealed into the phone. I held it away form my ear until she stopped.

"I tell you about it later when I'm there. I'm going to go now,"

Alice giggled. "Sorry, hon. Remember the story. Come over ASAP! Love ya!"

"Love you too, dearest Alice," I muttered darkly into the phone and hung up. I put my cell phone back into my pocket. I tugged open the door and almost ran into the same guy before _again_. Sometimes life was hard when you were clumsy, I thought with a sigh. Good thing I stopped before I fell again.

"Hey there," I said and smiled.

"Hi. Sorry to bother you again, but you dropped your keys, so I waited for you out here," he said. I blushed, realizing he could have heard everything I said.

"Um, thanks," I said. I held out my hand for my keys. He dropped it into my palm lightly.

"So... I hope your appetite isn't too ruined by that Mike guy," he said casually.

My eyes widened. "You were listening?"

"Well, you were talking pretty loud," he chuckled.

"How much did you hear?" I asked, cautious. I hoped that he didn't hear me say that he was gorgeous.

"All of it. I was going to knock, but that would seem weird, so I waited over here at the wall,"

"ALL of it?!"

"Yeah," he said warily.

I blushed crimson.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you would consider ditching this place and going somewhere better to eat with me? I know that you probably want to be with your friends, and we don't know each other, but..." he said, unsure.

My eyes widened. He wanted to eat with me? Me? Of course! How could he be unsure?

"U-um, yes, I would," I stammered. "Let me call my friend back real fast,"

"Wait. Before you call her, I think we should at least know each other's names," he said with a crooked smile. Of course. Why would we go out if we didn't even know each other's names? I mentally smacked myself on the head.

"My name is Isabella Swan, but call me Bella," I said and stuck out my hand.

"I'm Edward Cullen. Nice to meet you, Bella," he said and shook my hand. When he touched my hand, there seemed to be a jolt of electricity. I gasped. Edward seemed to feel it too, because he jerked his hand back and ran it through his hair.

"You can call your friends now," he said. I nodded and pulled out my phone again.

I called Alice for the third time today. She answered in one ring.

"What now, Bella?" she asked, annoyed.

"Sorry. But um, that _guy _I was talking about offered to take me to eat at a different place, so uhhh..."

"Oh! Good! Go ahead and go, Bella! But just know we will be asking for details later!" she sang into the phone.

I sighed. "Alright. Bye."

"Bye!" she said happily. I hung up my phone.

"Alright, let me just go make up an excuse for my 'date'," I said. He nodded.

"I need to do the same with my friends. Meet me at the door in 10 minutes?" he asked.

I nodded. He gave me one more breath taking smile and turned around.

I took a deep breath and walked over to Mike, who was looking at me suspiciously.

**Ha ha is that a cliffy? Well, if it is, you know you love it, lol! Sorry if it's moving too fast, but you'll see why later. I had fun writing about Mike being weird. Lol. Review, review, review! ;) I'll update soon!  
**


	3. My Own Personal Stalker

**I'm baaackk! Lol. Anyway, I wanted to update soon, because I am nice like that! It's hard, though. I am trying to update every Saturday; I'm off by a little itty bit! I just remembered, that last chapter was 12 pages! Hmm.. good for me! ha. ha ha. Another thanks to my reviewers, and again for my love LivForLove because she is my supportive pen pal that basically motivates me every time she writes! EVERYONE is so awesome to me! Not one flame! (Keep it that way, dammit!)**

**Well, the reason it's rated M is because there will be lemons. Is that ok? But I won't write the lemons; my best friend Kelsey has volunteered to do it for me. 1) she is a pervert (she admits it!) and 2) she wants to help me out. I don't do lemons. But are you ok with the idea of lemons? alrighty! lol. there won't be one in every chapter, but... maybe once in a while. Not yet, though. Later in the story.**

**Oh yes, somone said, "Bella already found her perfect man?!" Well, let me tell you all. Nope! At least, she doesn't know it yet. They still need to get to know each other! Ahh! ha ha **

**You guys know the new cliche on this site, right? The whole Bella goes to a boarding school, befriends the Cullen's and Hale's, learns Edward is a player, doens't want to fall for him but in the end he changes for her blah blah blah. I love it! I love cliche things! They are the best, dude! ha ha Ok this was totally pointless, sorry! Anyway, here you are! You _know _****you love me...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters Miss. Meyer has created. --sniff-- That TOTALLY killed my buzz... damn....**

Chapter 3

I walked shakily over to Mike who had seen me talking to Edward. Uh-oh.

Mike was chomping on a piece of steak while analyzing my every move. His clear blue eyes looked really suspicious as his eyes darted over to Edward's form walking toward his table. I took note that Edward's hair looked really good, even from the back. The whole sex hair was working for him, whether he was going for it or not. My eyes shifted down to his faded blue jeans.... I shook my head and snapped out of it.

"Sfo ghar gere yu fuing wit dat guy?" he asked, his mouth full, as soon as I was in hearing distance. I didn't understand a word he said.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked politely. Didn't he know not to talk with his mouth full? First of all, if he expected me to sleep with him, he would have to be better at charming me.

He swallowed his food. "I said, what were you doing with that guy?" he demanded.

"Uh... just talking to him. Anyway, I can't stay, Mike. Alice had an... asthma attack and she needs me. Really, sorry, but I have to go," I stumbled over my words. I was never a good liar, so I put my hands behind my back and crossed my fingers.

"Really?" he asked, turning his attention back to his food.

"Yeah.... So, I'm just gonna go help her," I said the last part slowly.

"Alright," he said, not really caring. That stung. I thought he really liked me. Not that I liked him that much, but it was always comforting to know that someone actually cared a little about you besides your best friends, so it would seem like he would actually care. Something like that.

"I'll call you later if I have time," I quipped, sort of mad about his uncaring-ness.

"You do that," he mumbled. I narrowed my eyes and turned away from him, crossing my arms like a little child who didn't get what they wanted. "Oh, Bella? Don't you want my number?"

I turned around and saw that his eyes were hopeful. What was he, bipolar? First he doesn't give a crap if my friend was in trouble, (which she wasn't), and then all of a sudden wanted to give me his number? What a load of bull.

"No. But Alice has it, I think. But I really have to go," I said hurriedly and walked quickly to the front door, looking over my shoulder, seeing if he was watching me. He just looked at me for a second and went back to wolfing down his food. Ugh!

Alice and Rosalie were so going to pay. It was very... I don't know, hypocritical? of them to just have this whole long conversation about how we were done with crap men like that, then just send me off with this guy. Oh, they would have a lot of explaining to do.

The only upside was that I met Edward.

My heart started beating faster than usual at just the thought of him. How crazy was that? I only knew him for like, what? 5 minutes? I was already aching to see him again.

Yes, very crazy.

I went to the front door and scanned the room for Edward. I spotted him standing at a table that was across the room from mine. He was running his right hand through his tousled hair unconsciously, while talking to two of his friends. Well, they must have been his friends because he said that he was with two friends. And those were two people. **(Could I be any more obvious?) **One was really big; looked like he lived at the gym. He had curly brown hair, and was smiling at Edward with the most adorable grin. He had dimples on each cheek. The other one was tall and lanky with honey blond hair. He was smiling serenely at Edward. Those two were both actually good looking. **(Yes, twilightfan09, Edward _was _****with Emmett and Jasper! ;D)**

I let my eyes rest on Edward after I looked at his two friends. Even in his casual black jacket over a white t-shirt, he looked really good. His jacket was unzipped, so I could see the perfect planes of his perfectly chiseled-like muscled chest over his t-shirt. Occasionally, I would always see his right hand run through his bronze hair. His long pale fingers look very strong, and so did his hands. Even though he had the jacket covering his arms, I knew he would have some muscles. I knew that it wouldn't be like his burly friends' muscles, but still, they were muscles, dammit! **(ok im annoying sorry his jacket isn't HUGE. It's like a hoodie, but it's NOT. i don't know why it matters though. sorry!)**

Before I knew it, his beautiful green eyes shifted to mine. His face broke out into a breath taking crooked smile. I blushed and looked away. Dang, I didn't even know his last name! It didn't help that I was acting like this. I took a steadying breath and looked over at him. He wasn't looking at me, but his friends were. The blond one looked curious, while the other one looked wickedly amused. I couldn't see Edward's face, but his gestures with his hands looked frustrated. The big one nodded his head, his face innocent. Edward turned toward the me and, rolling his eyes, throwing his hand up in a gesture of saying goodbye to his friends, not turning around. He started walking toward me, his eyes staying on the ground, with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He looked so adorable.

"Hi," I said as soon as he was in hearing distance. His eyes flashed up to mine. "So did they buy what ever story you gave them?"

"I don't think so. I have always been a good liar... sometimes, but my friends Emmett and Jasper can always tell if I'm not telling the truth," he said coolly. "What about you?"

"Yes. I am _so _not a good liar, but he seemed to be more into his food than he was into me," I joked.

He smiled. "That's not very nice of him. If I had you as a date, I would treat you with more respect," he said, serious.

"Well, it's not really a _date,_" I disagreed. "I don't even like him. But my friends wanted me to have a 'reunion' with him while they went out and shopped,"

"Why didn't they take you along with them?"

"Oh, because I'm not a huge fan of dating. Usually the don't care and drag me along anyway, but..." I trailed off, my eyes flashing to Mike. His eyes were darting between Edward and me, his mouth hanging open. A piece of rice dropped out of his mouth. Yuck. "Let's go," I said and gently tugged on Edward's arm.

He opened the door for me, in pure gentlemanly fashion, and waited for me to walk out before he did.

"Thank you," I said.

He flashed a dazzling smile. "You're welcome,"

"Wait, so am I going to have to take my car and follow you to where ever we are going...?" I asked, uncertain.

"How about you just ride with me?" he suggested, his eyes boring into mine. Woah.

"U-um yeah, b-but what am I going to do with my car?" I stuttered.

"I'll just bring you back over here when we are done so you can pick it up and drive it back to your house, unless you would want one of my friends to bring it to your place..." he said the last part uncertain. I could see why. I would have to give them my address, and give them my car keys. I didn't even know them, so they could turn out to be some stalkers, who knew.

"You can just drop me off here again when we are done," I said.

"Alright, well my car is over this way," he said and lead the way. The air was cold and nipped at my nose and ears. I wrapped my arms around myself. I saw that most of the cars in the lot looked used and dingy, just like my car. I never really noticed how they looked. But then Edward turned toward a shiny Volvo and clicked the button on his keys so the doors would unlock. Of course. A person like Edward didn't seem like he would just settle for some used car. But then again, I didn't even know him.

I walked over to the passenger door and opened it, getting in and buckled myself in. I looked over at Edward, who had his door open, frowning at something. He then composed himself and got in the car, starting it and fiddling with the controls so that the heat was up and the music was down.

I settled in my seat and thought for a moment. Was this not very careless of me? Edward seemed like a great person, but I didn't know him from Eve, so what if he was some rapist? That was a crazy thought, but still. Going out with someone who I only knew the name of the person wasn't very smart. But there was this vibe coming off of Edward that made me think otherwise. Maybe, a small voice said to me, he is different from pigs like Mike. Because even right then, sitting by him, there seemed to be some kind of electric flow going on in between us. That sounded so... cliche, but I was telling the truth. A part of me _didn't_ care what my paranoid side said. **(guys, of course Edward is not a rapist. dont worry!****)**

The music coming from the speakers caught me off guard.

"Clair De Lune?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. You know Debussy?" he asked, equally surprised. Usually people didn't even know who Debussy was. They may have heard a song or two, but that was when they were in piano practice in the second grade.

"My mom played classical music around the house when I lived with her," I explained.

"When you lived with your mom?" he asked, confused.

"Well, back in high school, I moved down here from Phoenix to live with my dad Charlie. They got divorced when I was just a baby. I remember when I first got here; I hated it so much,"

"If you hated it, then why did you move here?"

"Well, I figured that I must have been in the way between my mom Renee and her new husband Phill's relationship. They were newly married, and... I just wanted to give them some alone," I said, but then blushed, realizing that I made it sound wrong.

He didn't seem to catch that. He actually seemed interested.

"So you made a lot of friends when you got here?"

"Umm, people reacted to me... differently here than they did in Phoenix," I explained. Edward raised his eyebrows, not getting it. "I mean... I wasn't really all that popular at home in Arizona, but... I don't know, people seemed to like me a lot more here,"

We sat in comfortable silence again, while he thought.

"So... may I ask who that 'gorgeous guy' was you ran into?" he asked, his voice casual.

My jaw dropped, and my eyes widened. I blushed scarlett.

"You heard that?" I squeaked.

"Yep,"

"That's... not important..." I mumbled.

"Isn't it?" he said so quietly, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear.

He kept his eyes focused on the road, thinking about something. I looked down at my lap, realizing that I must be boring to him, and I completly embarrassed myself. Edward pulled into the parking lot of a small Italian restaurant called La Bella Italia. _Cute_, I though sarcastically to myself. But wasn't this restaurant in Port Angeles, an hour away from Forks? **(yeah she doesn't know about his manic driving yet...) **But I was thankful; I liked Italian food. Better than Ruby Tuesday, I knew that for sure.

He pulled into a space and turned off his car. I opened my door and met him at the front of the car. When I did, he frowned again at something. Maybe he was realizing what a dull person I was. I sighed. He walked in front of me and opened the door for me.

"Thank you," I whispered. I didn't look up to see if he smiled.

"You're welcome," he said and walked in behind me. The place was really pretty; lots of candles and tables. Since it was still around lunch time, not a lot of people were there since the place was mainly for dinner. 5 tables were filled up. So why did people go eat at Ruby's but not a decent place like this? People these days were really weird.

The hostess was really pretty just like the last one; blond with huge boobs and wore too much make up. Well, maybe pretty to some other perverted men. To me, she looked like a Barbie. Plastic. Ew. Her name tag read "Tanya" across it. Her white button down shirt had the first 5 buttons un-buttoned so you could see her big cleavage. Her strawberry blond was curly. She was eating bubble gum and was looking down at a magazine. She wasn't as pretty as Rose or Alice, but she still was, in a way. Definitely really pretty compared to me, though. Talk about depressing.

When she caught site of Edward, she dropped the magazine and puffed out her chest, making her boobs seem even bigger. People these days. Using their bodies to get someone to like them.

Edward didn't really pay much attention to her breasts. That was one thing I haven't seen much in guys these days. I knew Mike would have his hands out, ready to touch those knockers. I mean, they were just _there_, it was hard not to look at them. And it made me feel like a lesbian. Sort of. I shook my head and focused my attention to Edward and relaxed my expression. I knew it looked crazy.

Edward was not really looking at the Tanya girl. He would look at her, but his eyes would stay on me for the most part. I blushed.

"Um, excuse me? What can I do for you?" she purred, her eyes directed to Edward. His eyes left my face reluctantly to answer her. She leaned forward on her elbows so he could easily look down her shirt. He didn't. His eyes eyes stayed looking at her face. Wow. I've never met a man who did that, unless he was gay.

"Yes, could we get a table for two?" he asked smoothly, his voice sounding like melting honey. Did he mean to make it sound like that? It didn't seem like it; he actually looked at little distracted. But why? His eyes shifted to mine after he said that. I looked at Tanya and saw her looking at me distastefully. She gave me another nasty look and said, "Right this way," and strutted towards a table right in the middle of the restaurant, where she could keep an eye on us. I hated how pretty she looked when she walked. Kind of intimidating.

"How about somewhere more private?" he asked and his green eyes bored into hers. His voice was like melting honey. Her eyes widened, and nodded. I thought I saw Edward smile a satisfied smile, but I couldn't be sure. She lead us towards the back that had a private little booth.

"Thank you," Edward said smoothly.

She bat her eyelashes seductively at him. She thought that Edward liked her. "Anytime. Your waiter will be here in a minute. But if you need anything, _anything_ at all, I'll give it to you," she purred, winked at him, and walked away. I scowled at her directions. I shifted my gaze to Edward and saw that he wasn't staring at her, but at me. I blushed and looked down at my lap.

"So where did you go to college?" he asked.

"I went to Coleman University," I informed him. "I'm actually an editor for the newspaper currently, and write for it. But I have 2 weeks off; they wanted the intern to have a go at it," **(ok I made that up. But Bella needs to have a job!)**

"Really?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. I was about to ask him what college he went to, but then the waitress came over to serve us.

"Hi, my name is Lauren and I'll be your waitress for the day. What can I get you?" she asked while handing us our menus. I noticed that she only had eyes for Edward. Would this ever stop? It was sort of hard to go in public with him because the women stared at him like he was Jesus or something.

Edward nodded his head towards me. I looked down at my menu and chose the first thing I saw.

"I'll have the mushroom ravioli," I said and gave her my menu. She took and, wrote down my order and quickly turned to Edward.

"And you?" she asked. Edward was no different from me; he picked the first things he saw, it seemed.

"I'll take the pasta puttanesca," he said and handed her the menu.

"Anything to drink?"

"I'll have a coke," I said.

"Two cokes would be fine," Edward told her. She nodded, gave Edward one more wistful look and hurried away.

"So what college did you go to?" I asked.

"I went to Hartford," he mumbled. My eyes bulged.

"You _did_?" I asked.

"Yes. I've always wanted to be a doctor, just like my dad, so I did well in school, and... got accepted there. I'm actually still training," he explained.

"Wow," I said. "Your dad's a doctor?"

"Yeah, and it's always been a dream of mine,"

"I never really wanted to be a journalist or an editor until I was in college. I never really thought about that kind of stuff,"

"Really?" he asked. "Why not?"

"Well, because I never like to think about the future. Some people may like to, but I don't. Sometimes I wish time would stay still when I'm having a good day and... I don't like to think about future days that might distress me. It's sort of complicated,"

"Alright, here you are!" Lauren said brightly and set down the food in front of us. Wow, that was fast. She turned to Edward and batted her eyelashes.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked, trying to be seductive.

"No, I think I have everything I need," Edward said dismissively. Lauren walked away, disappointed. I looked around and saw Tanya looking pleased. Sigh.

"So who were your friends in there?" I asked Edward, taking a bite out of my food.

"Emmett and Jasper. Emmett is actually my brother, and Jasper is our best friend. I don't really care if people say it's lame to have your brother as your best friend, but... he's really cool," he said trying out his own food. When he took a bite, his face puckered up. He took a drink of his coke and watched me.

"Well, I don't think it's dumb. I think it's cool. My two friends that I met in college are like sisters to me. I _wish_ we were sisters,"

"What are their names?"

"Alice and Rosalie. They are both so... pretty. God, they look like freaking super models. In some ways, we are total opposites, but in others, we are like soul mates. Like, friend soul mates,"

"Are they prettier than you?" he murmured so quietly, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear. He intwined his long and plae fingers together and set them on the table. So he thought I was pretty? That was good to hear.

---

We basically ate and told each other about ourselves. The basics "what's your favorite color" and "where is your dream place". I learned that Edward loved the color silver because it reminded him of his Volvo. He said he adored it. He wished he could live in Europe because it was a place that seemed really cultural and historical. He only had one brother and no sisters. His dad's name was Carlisle and is mom's name was Esme. He hated chinese food and loved to cook. His mom taught him how to cook when he was just a boy, saying that men should learn how to do things their selves. He loved books by Shakespeare. The sound of rain helps him relax when he is studying for a big test, and didn't like to get lower than a 90 percent on a test score.

He knew that I loved books by Jane Austen, and all the classics. That I didn't have a particular favorite color; it depended on my mood. I loved all sorts of music; that also depended on my mood. But my favorites were Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Pink. I told him that I was never a big fan of Pink, but her songs grew on me. I was into classical music like him, but didn't know much of it. I couldn't stand a messy room; sometimes I seemed OCD. I told him that I couldn't sleep whenever it rains, and I get scared of thunder when it's too loud. I told him that I sometimes thought that scary movies were real. He knew that I loved sappy movies like The Notebook. That was my favorite of all time.

And so we went on. I don't know how long we sat there just talking. It seemed like we never ran out of things to say. Sometimes I would catch Lauren and Tanya watching us, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was Edward. Occasionally I would reach my hand out and draw little circles and shapes on the back of his hand. His hand was really smooth. But whenever I touched his hand, I would always feel a jolt of electricity.

"So that's why I never went jogging with Rose again. That is basically a big no-no to me," I giggled. Edward laughed his musical laugh. I looked at my watch and my smile faded. It was four o'clock. I lost track of time when I was with him; it only seemed like we were there for five minutes, but we were there for three hours. Edward only drank his soda; he said that his dish tasted of nothing but garlic, and said that you would need a search team to find any other flavors in it. I giggled at that. My plate was pretty good. I never liked mushrooms much, but this one was good.

"You have to go," Edward murmured. It seemed like he could read my mind.

"Yes, Rosalie and Alice are probably tapping their feet right at this very moment, pacing around the living room and blowing up my phone with calls and messages," I guessed. I had turned off my phone after I got two calls from them. I didn't really want to be disturbed.

Edward chuckled. "That's alright. Emmett and Jasper are going to be really mad at me. I told them that I was going to go drop a paper off at the hospital for my dad, told them I was going to be a half hour. Not that they bought the story in the first place, but still..."

I felt guilty. I was going to get Edward's friends mad at him because of me.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized.

"No, it's ok. I thought that this was fun," he said.

"Me, too, but I just don't want to cause anything between you and your friends," I said, uncertain.

"Oh, it's ok. They won't get too mad at me," Edward said coolly. I nodded.

"Are you ready for your check?" Lauren's voice came out of no where, so I jumped. What was she, stalking us? More like stalking Edward.

"Yes, that would be nice," he said. Lauren took out the check and gave it to Edward. He gave her a one hundred dollar bill and said, "Keep the change,"

Her jaw dropped, and so did mine. She shifted her gaze to me and gave me a dirty look.

"Thank you," she cooed. Ugh.

Edward grabbed my hand and (again, I felt that shock) pulled me towards the door. I saw that the place was almost empty. I guess Edward and I got lost in our own little world. We _were _in our own little world.

"Have a nice day!" Tanya called out to Edward, not even bothering to look at me. I rolled my eyes.

When we got outside, Edward hurried in front of me, clicked the button on his keys that unlocked the doors and opened the passenger door for me.

"My mom taught me to be a gentleman," he explained. So that's what Edward was frowning about earlier; about me not letting him get a chance to open the door for me. How sweet of him.

As he was walking towards his door, I thought I caught a glimpse of Mike, standing at the front door, his eyes zeroed in on me. He looked angry. I cringed into my seat.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked. He was just starting the car.

"Umm... I'm just worried about how mad Rosalie and Alice are going to be They sort of have a temper," I lied. I crossed my fingers again.

"Oh, well I'm sure they can't get too mad at you," he said and pulled out of the parking lot.

We spent most of the car ride in comfortable silence. It wasn't awkward at all. I just felt relaxed with him, even though there was a possibility that I had my own stalker. At one point, though, I looked out the window and saw that everything was going by in a fast blur.

"Holy crap!" I yelled, my hands clutching the sides of the seats.

"What?" he asked, alarmed by my outburst.

"Your going, like one hundred miles an hour!" I yelled, my arms flailing. I sounded a bit hysterical.

To my surprise, he only chuckled. "Calm down, Bella. I drive like this all the time," he looked at me and smiled an adorable smile.

"Don't look at me, look at the road! My dad is the chief of this town; I ought to give you a ticket or something!" I joked, giggling a little. I got serious again.

"You're dad is Chief Swan? Of course," he murmured.

"Yeah, and your dad is Doctor Cullen isn't he? I don't think he would like to see his own son in the ER," I said sarcastically.

"Bella." he said, turning his to me and unleashed the power of his smile and eyes. I think I melted right then. "Do you think I would let this car crash with you in it?" his voice was like melting honey. _Very _hypnotic.

My heart stuttered and then beat at a faster beat than usual. I didn't have any feeling around my face because he pretty much paralyzed me, but I thought I felt some drool go down my chin. I shook my head no.

"Alright, then," he said with a satisfied smile and turned his attention back to the road. I continued to stare like an idiot. No one was _that _good looking. Not even Josh Hartnett, and I always had a huge crush on him. That necklace that he always wore, his shaggy hair, that was sexy. But Edward? He knocked Josh off the list. The tousled hair was better than shaggy. Bronze was better than black. And who cares if Edward didn't wear a stupid surfer necklace? He was already beautiful without it.

Edward shifted his gaze from the road to me, feeling my awed gaze. His face broke out in a heart throbbing smile. I smiled back and looked down at my hands, biting my bottom lip. I peeked up at him from under my lashes to see if he was still looking. He was. My heart pounded in my chest, half worried that he wasn't looking at the road, and half because he looked interested.

When we made it back to the Ruby Tuesday parking lot, it was 4:30. Edward's maniac driving did come in handy. When he stopped the car, I waited for him to go out first, knowing that he would want to open the door for me. I never liked when people did things for me, but I didn't want to make him unhappy in any way, really.

"I think I'll go inside and see if Jasper and Emmett are still there, although I doubt it," he murmured. I got out of the car and nodded.

"I hope you aren't in too much trouble with them," I said apologetically.

"You, too," he said wryly. "I had fun, though. Can I get your number?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah. I mean yes. Sure," I said and fumbled around in my purse, looking for my phone. I fished out my silver motorela and handed it to him. He handed me his black iPhone. It looked so new and had no fingerprints on it. I hoped I didn't change that.

"Wow," I murmured. He sure had a lot of nice things. I typed in my number in the phone book and saved it. Edward did the same and gave me my phone back while I did the same.

"Wait just a second," he said and quickly snapped a picture of me so it would show up when I called. I did the same and saved it to his name. I hoped that he would show up in photos. He was too perfect for his own good.

"Thank you again," I said to him. He smiled and leaned in. My eyes widened and my heart beat faster. He turned his head to my cheek and gave me a small peck before pulling away.

That was it? Sigh.

"I'll call you later," he said a little huskily. I nodded and waved at him, smiling weakly. He waved and turned toward the building and started toward it. I just stood there. I didn't know why I was so elated. Was it because I had the most amazing time with a guy I just met today? Or because I got his number? Or because he gave me a peck on the cheek?

I think it was all three.

As soon as Edward was out of site and in the building, I did something I never do. I started jumping in place and clapping my hands while squealing. Very Alice-like. I just jumped around for 5 minutes, screaming with happiness.

"Happy, are we?" an unhappy voice behind me said, making me jump (with surprise). I didn't know anyone was watching me. I slowly turned around, realizing that the voice sounded very familiar.

"Mike," I gasped. **(i was about to leave this part as a cliffy, but i didn't want to do that to you guys! yes, thank me later) **So he _was _stalking me!

"So how is Alice doing, hm?" he asked, although he knew the answer to it. Fine, just fine. Because he knew I was lying the whole time as soon as he saw me leave with Edward.

"Ummm... fine," I squeaked.

He threw his car keys in the air and caught them with one hand. "Stop lying, Bella. We both know you left with that guy," he said sharply. I cringed.

"Uhhm..." I think I said and started to back away. I turned away and started fast walking to my car.

"Come on, Bella! You know we would have a great relationship if you tried!" he called after me. I didn't look over my shoulder and kept fast walking to my truck. I would run, but I was too clumsy for that.

I fumbled with my keys and opened the door as fast as I could. When I got in the car, I locked both doors, just to be safe. I looked out the window and saw Mike still staring at my direction, yelling out things I couldn't make out. I sighed and turned on my car. I guess I had a stalker. I hoped it wouldn't be like when Tyler stalked me. That was the worst. It still made me shudder to this day.

I revved the engine and turned up my heater. I resisted the urge to run over Mike, and kept my eyes straight ahead as I drove home.

A thought just occurred to me. If Edward stalked me, I wouldn't care. I didn't care if that was crazy, because it seemed sort of flattering. Only if Edward did it. It was actually freaky when other people did it. But that was because people who stalked people were... freaks, and Edward wasn't. I thought that maybe I was becoming the freak. Here I was, wishing that Edward would be my stalker. My own, personal stalker.

I turned on the radio to take my thoughts away from Edward-stalking fantasies, and looked for a decent song. Country, no. Rap, nope. Pop, nope. I sighed and turned off the radio.

When I made it into the drive way, I was relieved. Thoughts about Edward stalking me were getting out of control. Since the driveway was so long, I had to control it for even longer. Stupid, annoying, irritating fantasies!

I pulled into my spot and turned off the car. I saw Alice's yellow porshe was there, and so was Rose's red convertible. Good. They had some explaining to do.

I got out of the car and walked to the front door, stomping my feet to make myself seem mad. In reality, though, I was flying. So happy. Feelings in my body were there that I have never felt before.

I was light headed, my heart was pounding like a bongo, and I felt like I was going to throw up. I felt so fragile, yet sturdy at the same time. My thoughts wouldn't stop wondering to Edward if I didn't stop them. My legs felt weak, and I just wanted to collapse.

I liked it.

As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by a hyper Alice, and Rosalie.

"Oh my god!" Alice yelled, excited, waiting for details. Rosalie came over to pull Alice off of me, then gave me a knowing look. But why?

"Bella... you look smitten. Why?" Rosalie asked, her bell-like voice suspicious. I composed my face and willed myself to not lie badly.

"I do? I don't know why..." I said, looking anywhere but the two of them.

"Oh, cut the crap, Bella! We know that you were with that hot guy!" Alice sang. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"So I'm guessing you want details?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"Yes!" Rosalie said.

"Are you _sure_?" I asked, teasing a bit.

"Come on, Bella!" Alice whined. I giggled and fake yawned.

"You know, it might be kind of boring to you guys. Are you _SURE_ you want hear about it?" I said.

"Yes!" they said at the same time. I smiled.

I stretched out my arms and fake yawned again. "It _is _sort of late and I don't want to bore you. You might fall asleep, and I wouldn't want that. So you absolutely positive--"

"YES!" they both yelled and grabbed my arms, shaking me. I laughed.

"Alright girls, take a seat," I said and launched into my Edward filled story.

**So? I know, I took a few parts from the book. This chapter WAS based on when Edward and Bella first ate out with each other in Twilight. I changed it up a bit. Someone wants me to do EPOV. I can't really do him. I suck at it... so... I'm only focusing on Bella's POV. It's really late and I'm tired, so please, review! Oh yeah, sorry for all the A/N in there! I'll stop that! i promise. now all you have to do is review, and I'll update soon...  
****P.S. the pics of Bella and Edward's phones are on my profile. yes, im that dumb. NOW REVIEW!! please?**


	4. Basically Different

**Hi! Thanks to my reviewers; the reviews really motivated me. I just wanted to say real quickly. I know I spelt "Harvard" like "Hartford". I made up both colleges. They are my fake Ivy League colleges, alright? And don't worry; Mike stalking Bella won't be as creepy as you think. Thank you to Bellsaway, I THINK my future beta. her pointers are very helpful. And I'm sorry, but this chapter is sort of a filler. but doesn't every story need one? Plus, I'm going to be very busy, and I won't be able to sit here all day typing away, as much as I wish. Ok, Bellsaway, fancy words galore! im joking. lol. but ok this is too long... here's the fourth chapter!  
**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to go through and explain that I don't own any of the characters in Twilight? I thought not. **

Chapter 4

"Oh wow, Bella! He totally likes you if he didn't even look down her shirt!" Alice exclaimed, squirming in her seat with excitement. I was still standing up and had just finished telling them the story. Rosalie looked very superior, watching me and giving me encouraging smiles. She seemed equally excited for me.

"That _is _a good sign, Bella," Rosalie said knowingly. "I don't know any guy that wouldn't do it,"

"I know. I'm lucky aren't I? He's just so... different," I said, swooning at the thought of him.

"Do you think he'll call soon?" Alice asked.

I wrung my hands, a dent forming in between my eyebrows. I forgot to think about that. "I hope so...." I said uncertainly.

"Don't worry," Rosalie said, standing up to give me hug. "Of course he is. Everything you told us are good signs! And don't worry, we won't let the freak Mike stalk you any longer,"

Alice stood and wrapped her tiny arms around my waist.

"Uh... speaking of Mike, why did you guys send me out with him? I think you both remember our talk last night. So what's the deal with me going out with Mike?" I asked them impatiently. They both jerked away from me like they had been shocked. They both exchanged a quick look.

I narrowed my eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked them, my voice very suspicious.

"Oh, wow, would you look at the time!" Rosalie said and looked at her wrist that didn't have a watch. "It's been such a long day and I think it's time to hit the sack...." What was this? They were always good liars. They could probably look Jesus right in the eyes and lie with a straight face. **(Poor Rose and Alice don't like to lie to her... ;p) **

"Don't lie to me, Rosalie, I know something is up. One, it's only four thirty, and two, nobody uses that line anymore," I said. Alice giggled, and I threw her a sharp look.

"Look, Bella... it's a secret and we can't tell you! We promise you'll figure it out soon, but... just don't even bother for right now, because we won't tell you yet," Alice said with confidence. Apparently that's all Rosalie needed, because she stood up straight and looked me right in the face. It looked like she got over herself.

Huh. I wonder why?

I opened my mouth, but was cut off by the sound of the door bell. I sighed. I would have to weasel it out of them some other time. I turned to the door and walked down the two small steps that lead to the living room and front door.

"Hello, ma'am. Is there an… Alice Brandon around? I have the pizzas she ordered," the pizza guy said as soon as I opened the door. He had a slight southern accent, but not very apparent. He wasn't looking at me, but handling the pizza boxes. I gasped; he had honey blond hair and looked all too familiar. One of Edward's friends!

"Um. I ordered pizza?" I said, but Alice flitted to my side with a 20 dollar bill in her hand. The guy looked up at me (either Emmett or Jasper, I couldn't remember what Edward told me) and smiled, remembering me, too.

"You're the one Edward ditched us with, aren't you?" he said with an amused voice. "He left us stranded for an hour, so my friend and I decided to walk home," He grinned, but his eyes widened when he noticed Alice. I looked at her and saw that her smiling at him with a glazed look in her eyes. I frowned.

"Yeah, I remember you…" I said, but didn't want to interrupt that very passionate-spark-flowing moment between them. I stepped back, so I wasn't in the way. He wasn't listening to me, anyway. He only had eyes for Alice.

"Here are your pizzas, miss," he said. I looked closely and saw that his name tag said Jasper. The other one was Emmett. Huh.

"Oh! T-thank you," Alice said, dazzled for some reason, and handed him the 20 dollar bill. Her trilling voice was flustered, and she flushed a delicate color of pink. He took the money and handed the boxes to Alice carefully so she wouldn't drop them. It seemed like their skin brushed more than needed. I grinned.

"I'll get your change in just a minute," Jasper said and dug into a little zip-up package like thing.

"Oh, no. Keep the change. Please," she said and smiled flirtatiously at him. Jasper's lips spread into a wide smile. He smiled a charming and adorable smile at her, flashing his white teeth at her. I had to admit, he was good looking.

I looked behind me and saw Rosalie standing there, silently, watching them as well. She noticed me looking at her and gave me two thumbs up. I winked and turned back to watch the show. It was surprisingly enjoyable. It was so cute to watch them stare at each other. There was this click between the two of them, just standing there smiling. It was obvious that they both liked each other.

I wasn't exactly looking forward to Alice talking none-stop about it, though. The criteria of that didn't seem particularly inviting to me. But as long as she was happy, I was happy.

"Thank you, Miss. Brandon," he said smoothly. Alice just stood there gazing into his clear blue eyes, while he stared into her hazel ones. Aw.

Rosalie cleared her throat playfully. Alice snapped out of it and turned to look at her with a sheepish expression.

"I'm guessing you're hungry?" she asked. Rosalie nodded.

"That pizza smells amazing, but I didn't want to disturb your, erm… moment…" she said, while I giggled. Alice narrowed her eyes at the both of and turned back to Jasper.

"Thank you for bringing it," she said sweetly, like no one was nice enough to do delivery. I rolled my eyes.

"It was my pleasure," he said back and smiled at her, waved, and turned to walk down the steps, back to his car.

Alice closed the door and leaned against it, closing her eyes, her face dreamy. I walked over to her and patted her shoulder.

"Looks like I'm not to only one who's been bitten by the love bug," I said in a sing song voice. She opened her eyes and rolled her eyes at me.

"It's not like I'll ever see him again," she said, but seemed sad by the thought.

"That depends; do you know what pizza place you ordered from?" Rosalie asked, walking over to grab the two pizza boxes from Alice's tiny hands.

"I ordered from Hungry Howie's!" she exclaimed, cheered by the thought. She skipped into the kitchen, humming to herself. She opened a cabinet and pulled out 3 plates and 3 big cups. I went over to the fridge to grab out our Dr. Pepper 2 litter bottle, our favorite drink.

We brought everything into the living room and set it on the coffee table. Rose fluffed up the pillows on the couch and brought blankets from the storage closet.

"What should we watch?" Alice asked, pulling out a few choices from our collection. "Want to watch a love story with tragedy, with the bonus of a hot guy, Leonardo DiCaprio, _Titanic_? Or how about an action with a hot guy, Brad Pitt, _Ocean's Twelve_?" She waved them around, wanting our opinion.

Rosalie and I looked at each other and said, "Titanic," at the same time. Who didn't like a forbidden love story?

Alice nodded and popped it into our DVD player and grabbed the remote. She settled in between Rosalie and me and pressed play. I filled up our glasses with Dr. P while Rosalie placed a pizza on each of our plates. We all sat back to enjoy the movie.

It was just starting off where the people were doing research on the Titanic, before they meet Rose, the person who was on the Titanic and experienced love at the same time.

I rubbed my hypothenar (yes, that's a real word) and thought. Titanic was a favorite of mine, but I would much rather watch the Notebook. Both movies made me cry, but it was just plane sad that Jack dies in the movie Titanic. I always hated unhappy endings. But then again, I never believed in a happily ever after. In fact, I didn't believe that love was for me at all. Sure, I loved Rosalie, Alice, Charlie, and Renee with all my heart, but how were they going to hurt me? They couldn't break up with me. I giggled. Charlie and Renee wouldn't disown me. I think that I was afraid of... not of not getting loved, by more of... getting hurt.

And I wasn't one to change who I was for a guy. I was a take-it-or-leave-it. Changing who I was just to get some guy to like me was not who I am. I wasn't a girl who would wear some mono bikini because some guy wanted to see my breasts. Or one of those See My Thong girls who bat their eyelashes at boys, rah rah rah, wearing demoralizing short skirts and bending over so a crowd see their butt. And that was convention. I tried to avoid conventions. By avoiding conventions, though, one falls into another convention. It was sort of complicated. But that wasn't who I am. If some guy wanted me, then he had better want me for who I am.

And I wasn't perfect at all. Neither were Rosalie and Alice, believe it or not. Rosalie fixed cars, and that would make her seem better, but she was always crabby every time she was fixing something. She would yell at you for no reason. And Alice loved to read dirty books because she thought it's hilarious. Would some perfect person be like that? Even they had there ups and downs. But me, I was clumsy, very self conscious and had a low self esteem. I wasn't like other people. How would I relate to everyone when they didn't get me? Sometimes Rosalie and Alice didn't get me. I was basically different from everyone else, not that it bothered me. I just wanted to find someone that felt the same way as me.

There's gotta be somebody for me out there. Someone has to feel the same way as me, I thought. There could be someone in this world thinking the same thing.

When it got to the part when Rose was telling her story, when she was just getting on board, and Jack (Leo) was playing a card game with his Italian friend to win tickets to go on the ship.

I took a bite out of my second pizza and thought for a minute again. I had always had a small crush on Leonardo. Not as much as Josh Hartnett; I used to tack pictures and posters of him on my wall. I would get pictures of him without a shirt and almost die at the site of him every time I walked into my room. That was when I was obsessed. Plus, that was before I met Edward. Anyway, Leo was always sort of cute to me. The first time I saw him in this movie, I would always be amazed at his acting skills.

He was also so smart in the movie. It was a good thing Rose stayed with him, because he wasn't as selfish as her fiancé. He knew how to get away and get loose.

And he loved her like there was no other woman on the planet.

Sigh.

My thoughts wondered to Edward. Would he be calling soon? Maybe I should have kept the phone with me. My thoughts turned frantic, and I had to calm myself down.

_"I kissed a girl and I liked it  
The taste of her cherry chap stick  
I kissed a girl just to try it  
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it"_

I jumped at my ring tone. I put it on that song as a joke, but it was actually embarrassing with the way Alice and Rosalie were staring at me, their eyes amused.

"I'll pause the movie," Alice giggled. I jumped up and ran to my purse, hoping to god that it was Edward.

I tore open my purse, grabbed my phone, and didn't bother to check who it was, too anxious to hear Edward's voice, if it was him calling.

"Hello?" I asked breathlessly. I crossed my fingers.

"Bella? Honey?" Renee's voice said on the other line. My face fell and my stomach dropped. It wasn't that I didn't love my mom, but she could sometimes get in the way. I sighed.

"Hi, mom," I said in a dull voice.

"Hi sweetie, I just wanted to--- stop it, Phil!" she giggled. Oh, god, don't tell me they were doing what I think they are doing, I prayed.

"Uh, what is it that you wanted?" I asked cautiously.

She giggled again. "Phil, you are one naughty person," she said. I gagged.

"If I were a bouquet, what flavor would I be?" I heard Phil ask her seductively.

"Ok, mom, this is freaky! If you and Phil are… touching each other, then I'm hanging up!" I said hysterically. And this was why I moved away from them. It was just plane gross. They couldn't keep their hands off of each other.

"Oh, I'm sorry, hon. I wanted to talk to you. How are you? You need to come an visit me. I miss you so much. But your step father is being--- I am on the phone with your step daughter, so stop touching me like that! Stop! That tickles!" She yelled. My eyes widened, and my stomach felt queasy.

"Mom, call me back when you are free, alright? This is sickening. I'm hanging up now, love you mom, bye!" I said and flipped my phone shut. Did they seriously think I wanted to hear that stuff? They acted like teenagers. When I lived with them, it seemed like I was the only mature person around.

"What happened, Bells?" Alice asked from the living room.

"Just my mom and Phil getting their 'freak on'," I yelled back casually, like it was an everyday thing.

"Ewww…." They giggled.

"I know!" I replied and giggled too. I was just about to put my phone back in my purse, but it rang again. It must be Renee again, I thought to myself.

I opened it and sighed. "Look, I don't want to talk to you when you are getting down and dirty with Phil! I prefer _not_ to hear that… dirtiness. I love you, but...." I said and closed my eyes.

"I'm getting down and dirty with Phil? Sorry, but I don't know anybody by the name of Phil. In fact, I'm not even gay," said a smooth voice into the phone, his voice teasing. I gasped.

"Edward?" I squeaked.

"The one and only," he joked again and chuckled his musical laugh.

"Uh, s-sorry about, uuhhh... I didn't know it was you calling..." I stuttered. He laughed again.

"Don't worry about it," he said coolly. "So... is everything cool between you and your friends?" he asked.

"Yep," I said, recovering from my shock. I walked back into the living room. "We're cool. But speaking of friends, Jasper is a pizza delivery guy?" I asked him.

Alice and Rosalie gave me a questioning look.

"It's Edward," I mouthed to them, pointing at my phone. They both squealed.

"Oh, right. He is. He hates it, but is doing it as a part time job until he can find something he can do for a living. Did you see him around?"

"Yeah, he actually delivered some pizza to my house earlier today,"

"You order from Hungry Howie's?"

"Yes. What's so bad about that? Their crust is amazing,"

"You buy it for the _crust_?" he asked, incredulous.

"No... well, yes. I find the crust the best part of a pizza," I replied.

"And how do you figure that?" he asked.

I shrugged, knowing he couldn't see that. "The healthiest, in my opinion," I said. I changed the subject when he laughed at me. "So," I started saying in a stage whisper, knowing full well that Alice and Rosalie could hear me. "It looks like my friend Alice and your friend Jasper might have a crush on each other,"

"What?!" Alice screamed. She jumped up and tried to yell in the phone. "She's a liar! I don't have a crush on him!"

"Alice, who are you kidding? You _loooove_ him," Rosalie joked. Alice pouted.

"I don't love him, because I don't even know him. I might have a crush, but...." she said.

"I think you should tell Jasper that 'Miss. Brandon' has a little crush on him," I giggled to Edward.

"I sure will," he said. "I was talking to him earlier on the phone, and he did mention something about liking one of his customers... he said it was one of your friends," he said.

"Wait, what's the deal with you and your friends? Were they mad?" I asked as I went to pick up my drink from the coffee table. Alice and Rose patted the spot between them so they could hear. I sat down. They both leaned their heads in, trying to hear out of the receiver, which left me little room to hear and talk.

"They walked home. You should have seen their faces when I got home," he said and chuckled. "They did act like girls, though. They wanted to know every detail,"

"How sexist is that?" I said.

"What?" he asked.

"You said they acted like girls. I for one, don't see anything wrong with being a girl," I said as Rosalie and Alice nodded their heads.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to offend you there," he laughed again.

"So did you tell them everything?" I asked.

"Yes. I mean, we both know that I can't lie to them," he said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Hey Bella?" he asked.

"Yes?" I said.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked, but his voice was on the verge of doubling over in laughter.

"Sure," I said cautiously as Rose, Alice, and I took a drink of our soda and leaned in closer.

"I meant to ask it earlier, but I didn't find the right time. Is there a mirror in your pants? Because I can _definitely_ see myself in them," he said with an incredibly sexy voice.

Rosalie, Alice, and I spit out our drinks at the same time. I started choking on what I had almost swallowed.

"W-what?!" I asked, coughing. Alice's and Rose's jaws dropped, while they wiped away the soda on their faces.

"I was kidding, Bella," he said as he burst out laughing. His laugh was so musical, and I had to admit that it got me, that I started laughing, too, followed by Rosalie and Alice. **(admit it, you fell for it too... yeah lame joke but... read profile... it explains...)**

When we finally stopped laughing, Edward said, "I would say 'You should have seen your face' but I didn't see that, but you should have heard your voice,"

"Oh, ha ha, Edward, very funny," I said sarcastically, giggling a little.

"I heard I got your friends, too. Emmett and I were doing pick up lines on each other, so... I decided to see if I could get you," he explained with a laugh. "So did it work?" he asked, teasing.

"Hmm... nope, not with me, buddy," I said with a laugh. The two girls stood up, still a little miffed about it, and went to hunt down a towel.

"That's too bad," he said, feigning disappointment.

"Is it?" I asked and laughed.

"Hey, Jasper just walked in the door. I have to go, ok? I'll call you later," he said, and I heard the sound of a door closing.

"Alright. It was nice talking to you," I said.

"Bye, Bella. Sleep well," he said.

"You, too. Bye," I said and hung up the phone.

I stood up and walked over to Alice's bathroom, knocking on it.

"I'm gonna take a shower, Bella!" she yelled from inside of it. Ok, I thought. That would mean Rosalie would be busy too. I went into my room.

My bed was a queen sized one, something Alice had insisted that I would buy. I had to admit; it was a good thing she convinced me because it was really comfortable. It seemed strange to have a house with four bathrooms and only three people living in it, but that was just the way I liked it. It made our loft seem special to me.

And who found a loft in Forks? The place was such a small town, I didn't even know that such thing existed in Forks. But you know Alice... she could find anything. If not, she would pay someone to build it.

I stripped out of my clothes and put on my flannel pj's that Rose and Alice hated that I wore. I seriously didn't care; who was going to watch me while I slept? So was it now a fashion contest to go to sleep? I shook my head and setteled into my blankets.

I didn't have any books, so I decided to go to the library tomorrow. I didn't have any work to keep me busy since they had an intern covering for me. Usually if I didn't have a good book, I would get to my writing. But, of course now that I wanted it to keep my mind off of... things, I didn't have work.

I closed my eyes and let my thoughts wonder to Edward, once again. Was he thinking about me like I was thinking about him? High school all over again. Did he feel the same way? Feel the electric shocks every time we touch?

Maybe it was just me. I sighed. Life had so many questions.

**Yes.... this chapter was short compared to what it usually has. No big events. Just watching tv and such... sorry if it sucks. But you know how I try and update every week? I didn't have time to work on it at all and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging. Don't worry, better chapter next time. I promise. It has to do with pick up lines... Oh yeah, hypothenar _is _a word. It means the fleshy mass at the base of the little finger. Weird, eh? Umm.. Renee being childish. I know. I made that up. I'm a beginner writer so if things suck then whoops. I realize that this is very cliche. there will be many things to over come, and Bella's first kiss with Edward won't come up yet. Isn't it too soon? Anyway, sorry again for the sucky chapter. Better one coming up this week or on Saturday like usual... but school is impossible to work over. ****Obama is our president! Read profile about how excited I am about that. Review, though, people! Let's see if I can hit 40 reviews... ok? That would make my day.  
You know I love you.  
**


	5. The Seduction of Edward

**A/N: Hello fellow fan fiction readers! I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!! My life is just so hectic. I'm getting a break from school, so i took the opportunity finish up this chapter! Prepare for a long authors note.. be warned!!...**

**I am so disturbed... --shudder-- a reviewer that was anonymous by the name of ~Becca!~ left me the most disturbing review in the history of reviews... maybe not but uhh I went and took a shower after I already took one a minute ago. Yes, I know. It was that weird. Ok, I made it to 40 reviews! 44, in fact. Good for me. I don't care if I updated like... oh a week ago, still review! Don't you like that feeling that people are reading your story? Reviews are sacred, so you should do it if you cherish your life... lol... My other story has four chapters and only 28 reviews, and this one has 44!! so happy, am i. lol. i am just saying, I quit How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, ok? some people are upset about that, but hey, I want to concentrate on this one!**

**This chapter is dedicated to littlelamb188 'cause she rocks... lol.. you go girl! keep up with the pick up lines and get caught by some cute guy! ha ha i recommend you and your friends prank call a hot dude and try to pick him up with a manly voice.. i've done it with my friends Tisha, Kelsey an Casey one time, and it's so fun, ha ha.**

**Thank you to LivForLove 'cause she cares... and she knows what I am going through right now is very personal and is helping me when i am so confused like i am feeling right now.. anyway she is such a huge help and i love her so much!**

**I changed my profile pic to what says "Edward is good at everything. Now think about that for a hot second". WOO-HOO! SEXY EDWARD!! gotta love that vampire.**

**Did you guys see the twilight movie? i for one thought that it was great! go to profile, and it will show my views on it, cuz it is too long to write on here.**

**I know that it's the same old crap with authors about "oh, life is so crazy for me sorry i haven't updated blah blah blah" well sorry to break it to you guys, but fan fiction isn't my entire life. it might be to other people, but i just do this on my free time and when im bored. i do this for your entertainment. i don't care if it isn't perfect, and im not expecting to win a grammy award (but that would be cool) about this story or become an author in the real world. writing is just something i do for fun, and it's where i like to express myself. so i'm sorry if i don't always update soon, it's just because i have a life to attend to, and other things. sorry if that turned out harsh, but it's the truth. but don't worry, i won't leave you guys hanging. really, i enjoy writing this story.  
**

**Since you guys are probably gathering up dirty socks and a sling shot to shoot in my mouth to get me to stop talking, i'll shut up now. Yeesh, keep the peace people, and put away the socks and sling shots for next time.. lol... **

**Anyways. I think that this chapter was so flippin' fun to write! My friend Tisha helped me with it, so a little splash of her personality will be in here. This chapter will be better than the last, I promise. But remember... click that VERY obvious button that says "Review this story/chapter", after you are done reading this chap, ok? lol. Here we go!...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the other characters. Edward, however, owns me, and can keep me prisoner any time, any day. --wink--**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 5 

_Beep Beep Beep_

"Hi, this is DJ Coswell doing the morning radio, it is now 8 o'clock a.m. People going to work should head out the door, because you'll want to soak up as much of the sun today. Today there will be no rain; just clouds and sunshine..." I woke up to the sound of the cheery voice of the radio announcer. I groaned. I didn't know I set it last night.

I slapped my hand down hard on the snooze button and lifted my head. My head was pounding like it seemed to every morning. I sat up and crossed my legs, scratching my head. My fingers got stuck in it; my hair was very tangled.

Events from the day before came flooding to my head as I jumped off my bed to get my phone off of my night stand. I flipped my messy hair out of my eyes and flipped my phone open, checking if I had any missed calls. I felt like I slept really deep. A good change from sleeping on the couch, I thought.

No new calls. I sighed. Of course, though. Why would he call at midnight?

Since I was already up, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I crept into my bathroom to quickly brush my hair and splash some water on my face with cold water. My face felt really sweaty, and if I had bangs, they would be plastered to my sweaty forehead. I wonder why I am so sweaty, I thought to myself. I brushed my teeth, getting rid of the taste of bile in my mouth.

I looked in the mirror at my groomed hair and face.

My eyes seemed brighter, happier. My lips had a small smile on them, and my hair was looking shinier than usual. Was my happy face because of Edward?

I went into my room and quickly pulled on a pair of a jeans and a t shirt that Alice made me buy. I walked into the living room to get my shoes, and to leave a note telling them that I would be out for a while. Mornings like this would be perfect for one of their little shopping-sprees, and I didn't want to be apart of that. Although they already went the day before, that didn't matter to them

I picked up a pen and wrote on a pad of paper.

_Sorry if I won't be here when you guys wake up.  
I couldn't sleep and decided to go out to the library.  
I'll be back soon, don't worry.  
Lots of love-- Bella_

The only part that was sort of a lie was when I wrote that I couldn't sleep. But that didn't matter. I took the paper with me while I shoved on my converse shoes and crept up the stairs and into Rosalie's room to take a quick peak inside.

When I opened the door, though, her bed was nicely made and empty. I frowned and walked in. I checked her walk in closet and saw everything was organized as usual. I looked on her dresser. Neat. A small part of my brain told me that I forgot to make my bed. That was unusual of me. Like I told Edward; I couldn't stand a messy room. '

I went into Alice's room and saw that she wasn't in there either. I narrowed my eyes and walked over to her dresser. A piece of paper with elegant writing on it was on the floor by it. I bent down and picked it up.

_It will be a surprise! Come on over and we'll help you with it.  
We know everything you need, and she or he will never see it coming!  
Come to building number--_

"Bella?" Alice's voice said from behind me, causing me to jump up and let out a little squeak.

I quickly stood erect and whirled around, hiding the paper behind my back, facing Alice's suspicious super model-looking face. She was holding a cup of coffee from Starbucks, in her night pants and a t-shirt, wearing her jacket over it, and slippers. I frowned; she still looked beautiful. Only she and Rose could go out in public like that and still look great. And Edward too, I reminded myself. Shut up! I scolded myself. He already had me crazy enough. I didn't need to be egging myself on.

"Oh, hi Alice...." I said, looking anywhere but at her. And of course I stupidly kept the note behind my back.

"What's going on?" Rosalie asked while she glided into the room in the same attire as Alice, looking at my frozen form and Alice's suspicious face.

"It looks like Bella has been doing a little snooping," Alice said, putting her tongue in her cheek. Rosalie raised her perfect eyebrows.

"Is this true?" she asked me.

I frowned. "No.... Not _snooping..._" I said, my eyes darting around the room, my face burning. "You girls were gone, so I went in here to check it out and then... I was worried and all that so I was, I don't know... I guess I was checking if someone some how broke into the house and kidnapped you? I was just checking around to see if anything was messed up and out of place because I know how you like things organized..." I said all of this very fast, my face growing hotter by the minuet with the attention they were giving me.

"So you had to look around the whole room for _one_ bit of evidence?" Rosalie asked me. I shrugged.

I finally rest my eyes on Alice and saw that her eyes were zeroed in on my arms that were hiding the paper behind my back.

"Bella...." she said slowly. "What's that behind your back?" She started walking towards me slowly, her eyes still zeroed in on my arm. Rosalie followed.

"N-nothing in particular," I said, backing away.

Rosalie and Alice exchanged a sly look and advanced on me.

"Do you think she's ready for this?" Rosalie asked, holding out her fingers and wiggling them. Oh no, I thought.

"Why, yes, I think she is, dearest Rosalie," Alice said and held out her tiny hands, too. My eyes widened.

"No!" I shrieked and started backing away into the wall. They were going to tickle me. And they knew where my weak spot was.

"Oh, _yes_, Bella," Rosalie said evilly, while she and Alice ran at me, full speed.

I tried to go around them, but they each caught one of my arms, tickling my stomach and neck. I started giggling madly.

"Stop that! You know that t-tickles me!" I yelled trying to push myself away from them. They both laughed and went to my feet. I kicked and thrashed them around, laughing the whole time.

"Give it up, Bella. You know we are going to win," Alice said gleefully.

"Never!" I said, making it sound dramatic, still laughing. When they pulled off one of my shoes, I couldn't take it.

"A-alright! Here!" I said, giggling and thrashing. They both pulled away, laughing their delightful laughs.

"That's right, Bella. You should never deny our powers," Rosalie joked. Alice giggled and snatched the paper out of my hand. I meant to run away with it, bit she was just too fast for her own good.

While she and Rosalie were reading it, their eyes widened. Alice crumpled it up and threw it in the garbage.

"That was just…." She said, struggling to find the right lie. Yes, I said _lie_. I was getting used to this.

I changed the subject, but still looked at them curiously. "Why did you two go out this early to Starbucks? We already have a coffee maker here at home," I said.

"Oh!" Rosalie perked up. "Well, Alice wanted to go and see Jasper. She apparently couldn't sleep, and woke me up to go with her to Hungry Howie's. They weren't even open yet, so we just decided to go to Starbucks, since it was close by," she explained.

"Why didn't you guys wake me up?" I asked, feigning hurt. They both grinned at each other.

"It seemed like you were having a very… nice dream, and we didn't want to wake you up from it," Alice giggled. I felt the heat creep up my neck.

"What exactly did I say?" I asked, cringing. They were always teasing me about how I talked in my sleep. It was something I got used to, and never cared that much. They said I usually talked about family or whatever kind of crazy dream I was having. I tried to remember what I dreamt about the night before, but froze when I realized what I dreamt about.

"_'Edward, stop that! Oh, wait, keep going! Yes!'_" Alice cackled. "If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that he was in there with you!"

"Yeah, so we decided to check on you. Turns out you were just thrashing around in your bed, having a sex dream about him! We _so_ have to meet him if you dream _that _about him!" Rosalie giggled. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the burning going on in my face. I was probably beet red.

"I mean, I didn't know you could yell that loud!" Alice teased. I blushed even deeper.

"I didn't know that you could make such sounds!" Rosalie joked. I blushed even _more_.

"Alright, I think we should stop," Alice giggled. "She's losing all of her blood; it's all going into her face,"

"Yes, _please _stop teasing Bella," I complained, shoving back on my shoe. "I'm gonna hit the library; I'll see you girls later,"

"Aw, come on, Bella!" Rosalie said from behind me. "We were just having a little fun!"

"It's not that, Rosalie. I'm used to that. I just want to get some new books," I explained, turning around to hug her and Alice.

"Call us later! We want to take you to the mall. It's supposed to be real sunny," Alice said. I nodded, grabbed my keys, quickly put on my rain jacket just in case, and walked out the front door.

The sun was shining, but it was still a little chilly out. That was ok with me. As long as it wasn't raining, then I had no problem with it. I did prefer it to be warm, but this was as good as it would get, as far as I knew.

* * *

When I made it to the library, there weren't much people there. The parking lot didn't have too much cars. I took the closest spot to the door and got out of my car.

When I pulled open the door, I saw a few people browsing around, and using the computers. I was overwhelmed by the warm air that hit me. I breathed out heavily. It wasn't quite cold enough to have the heat up this high, I thought. I looked over at the librarian, who was looking over at me curiously, squinting through her reading glasses.

"Hi, Mrs. Jones," I waved at her and smiled. She was a kind and elderly woman, who made good friends with me because she spent a lot of time at the library like me. But, unlike me, she worked there. She actually owned the place. She had long gray hair that was always up in a twist. She was always so _clean_, too.

It was the only library in Forks that had decent books. When I first moved here, I spent days finding and asking which libraries were best. There were probably better ones in Port Angeles, but I didn't want to drive all the way over there. My poor truck probably couldn't take it. I went to the library a lot.

"Oh, hello, Bella!" she said kindly to me. "Can you please do me a favor?"

"Sure," I said curiously, stuffing my hands in my pockets and walking over to her. "What can I do for you?"

"In about ten minuets, I have to meet with my sister. I don't have anyone to cover for me, and even though there are not too many people here, I still need someone to cover for me. Could you do that for me, honey?" she asked me, her kind face pleading.

"Of course I can. Do you need to me right now?"

"In five minuets, you'll need to. I'll come and find you when I need you. Thank you," she said, patting my arm, and went into the back room.

I shrugged at leaned into the desk.

"Did it hurt?" a small, velvety voice said from behind me, warm breath on my neck, making me jump.

I knew that voice all too well already. I knew I shouldn't, but that voice has been in my dreams. And I wasn't about to let _Edward_ know that he had the effect on me. He would know that I was becoming obsessive, and that I wished that he would stalk me. And that basically made me a freak. With that thought, I tried to breathe in and out slowly, hoping that he couldn't hear my heart spluttering frantically, knowing that he was just inches behind me.

"Did what hurt?" I breathed, confused by the question, still refusing to turn around.

"When you fell from heaven," he whispered, his breath still warm on my neck, giving me goose bumps. I swallowed and turned around.

His absurdly beautiful face got to me again, so my heart sped up to an unhealthy rate, and my stomach did flip flops. Was it possible that someone like him was interested in someone like me? That couldn't be possible. He was too good for me. I shook that thought out of my head and mustered a smile.

"Someone like me couldn't have fallen from heaven; that would make me an angel," I said, smiling slightly. His face broke out into a heart-throbbing crooked smile, showing his perfect white teeth. Were there any flaws to this man?

"I take it you saw this coming?" he questioned, looking down at his hands.

"Nope. Well, yes, because of our conversation last night. So what brings you here?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn up.

"I was just going to drop off Emmett's movies he checked out," he said, gesturing toward the drop-in bin.

I nodded and looked down at the floor. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't find the strength to look up into his gorgeous green eyes, knowing that my plain brown eyes must have been nothing interesting to him. What a great time for you to feel self-conscious, Bella, I thought to myself, mentally kicking myself.

"Bella, look at me," he said, putting his finger under my chin to lift it up. I felt my cheeks burn red hot, and I couldn't help but just look into his eyes.

There was something there, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Some kind of adoration? What was that? His eyes were very expressive, but I couldn't tell what he was feeling. Of course, I've always had to rely on the eyes. I was never a good reader. But with Edward, there was just this vibe coming off of him; you just know that he helps others and doesn't expect things to be handed to him on a silver platter. That he was a caring person. And looking into his warm green eyes made me feel like I was the most special girl in the world.

"Bella?" Mrs. Jones' elderly voice said, breaking me from my trance. I blushed and looked at her.

"You're ready for me to take over?" I asked, avoiding her suspicious gaze. It wasn't the parental suspicious, it was more on the lines of _I know you like this boy_ look.

"Yes, and thank you again," she said, giving me a small hug, and sped out the door. She must've been excited for something. I went through the flap doors and sat down on the chair, feeling Edward's gaze on me the whole time. When I finally got settled, I looked up at him and decided to play around.

"Do you have a map? I just keep getting lost in your eyes," I teased. I knew these pick up lines were getting so old, because we've been doing it a lot, but I wanted a chance to try out all my cheesy lines on him.

His lips curled up into a smile as he placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward. I was distracted by how he looked when a piece of his hair fell over his eye, making him look sexy. I cocked me head to the side and smiled slightly, feeling a fantasy coming on.

"If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put U and I together," he said and leaned an inch closer. My eyes widened, but I still refused to let him know the effect he had on me.

"Excuse me, but I think I dropped something; my jaw," I said, leaning back into my chair.

"Your legs must be tired, because you've been running through my mind all night," he said, leaning an inch closer.

"I think there is something wrong with my eyes because I can't take them off of you," I said, giggling.

"Where's my library card? Because I'm checking you out," he chuckled.

"Are you a parking ticket? Because you've got FINE written all over you," I said, smiling.

"Is your last name Campell? Because you're mm mm good!" he said, rolling his eyes at the stupid pick up line.

"You must be Jamaican, because Jamaican me crazy!" I shot back, leaning forward.

"You're father must be a thief, because he stole the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes," he shot back.

"Do you work for UPS? Because I could have sworn I saw you checking out my package," I laughed, even though that was meant for a guy to say. It was just so gross. I looked over at someone on the computer and saw that she was glaring at me for being too loud.

He raised his eyebrows. "I'm no Fred Flinstone, but I bet I can make your bed rock," he said. Oh, so it was going to be like that?

I leaned closer.

"If your left leg is Thanksgiving, and your right leg is Christmas, can I visit you between the holidays?" I said, giggling madly.

I saw him smirk slightly as he wiggled his index finger, telling me to come closer. I came closer. "I made you come with one finger, imagine what I can do with the rest," My jaw dropped at that. What?

I racked my brain for cheesier pick up lines. I didn't really know a lot of them; I used them all on Edward. I looked at him and tried to not look defeated. He smirked.

"Done already?" he taunted. My breath hitched; we had moved so close together. His face was inches from mine.

"I don't spend all day memorizing pick up lines," I said, defending myself. He smiled and looked down thoughtfully, his impossibly long eyelashes casting shadows over his flawless cheekbones, making him look sexy yet still adorable. I looked at a group of girls by the computer, and saw that their jaws were dropped, and they were staring at Edward. Come to think of it, all of the girls were staring at him. Apparently, they heard our little duel, and couldn't get over his beauty. I turned my attention back to his adorable face. It was impossible that he could look like that. No one should be able to look that perfect. He deserved to be a male model, not in some small town named Forks. Sigh.

His eyes flashed up to mine, and I melted right then. His smile was angelic, and his eyes alone seemed to melt my heart; it stuttered and started to beat really fast. His eyes penetrated mine as he kept that beautiful face of innocence.

His voice was like melting honey as he said, "Fascinating. I can't keep my eyes off of yours, because I've never seen such dark eyes with so much light in them,"

I was his right then. The voice, the face, his eyes, and even his _smell_ had me under his curse. His smell was unlike anything else, very sweet and intoxicating, but not at all overwhelming. It was unique, and it smelt wonderful.

Funny. He got me with a pick up line. Or did he say that because he meant it?

Did he have some kind of power? I took a few deep breaths as I flushed. I couldn't keep a steady gaze on him; it was like looking at a bright light. He, on the other hand, kept watching me as I kept blushing a million shades of red, and while my eyes kept darting towards his and then down to the desk, while gnawing my bottom lip off. His smile stayed angelic.

"Um, excuse me?" A red haired girl was standing next to Edward, twirling her hair, smiling flirtatiously at Edward. His smile faded slightly as he turned to look at her.

"Sorry to bother you. But I couldn't help but notice how hot you are! You and me totally have to go out," she said bluntly. Well, that was pretty straight forward.

"Sorry, I can't," Edward said flatly.

"But why not?" she whined, scooted closer to Edward. She was acting too comfortable with him, and she didn't even know him.

"B-because he has a date with me tonight," I spoke up, standing up and pulling Edward as close to me as I could with the desk in the way. He looked at me, and I winked when I saw she wasn't looking. He nodded slightly as he put his arm around me, the desk still in the way.

The girl snorted. "Uh, excuse me? You're turning _me _down?" she said incredulously, like it was impossible. I rolled my eyes.

"Looks like he just did," I said, taunting her a little as I kissed his neck. She stomped her foot and turned away, but managed to wink at Edward before she did that. What was wrong with her?

Edward had pulled up a chair and sat by me the whole time Mrs. Jones was gone. We chatted about anything, and laughed a lot. A lot of girls passing by winked at Edward, but he never seemed to notice it, he just kept talking like nothing happened.

It was really easy to talk to Edward. He listened, and never seemed to get bored of me. I liked that.

"Hello, Bella. Shouldn't you be sitting up properly?" asked Mrs. Jones voice, making me jump and blush. When she saw Edward sitting by me, her mouth made an _O_ shape as she said, "I was never here," and backed away. She was really silly.

"No, that's alright. I was just about to leave," Edward said, standing up. Mrs. Jones eyes widened when she got a good look at him. I mouthed _I know _to her when she looked at me.

"Yeah, Alice is expecting me," I said, standing up as well. I waved to Mrs. Jones and walked outside with Edward.

"It was really fun trying to pick you up, Edward," I said when we were outside. I hugged myself because the air was still a little nippy.

"I feel the same way," he said, his eyes having a far away look to them.

"Did any of them work?" I asked hopefully.

He grinned. "Of course. But I'm not going to tell you which one," he said, still grinning.

"Aw, come on!" I whined, stamping my foot like a little child. "Fine then, I won't tell you which one got me," I pouted.

He smiled gently. "You look so adorable when you pout," he whispered, brushing my pouty bottom lip with his thumb. My heart sped up and I blushed, but I managed to roll my eyes and look directly at him.

I was startled by how close he was. I felt his delicious breath on my face, and my heart throbbed. Was he going to kiss me? I bit my bottom lip, waiting for his next move. I wasn't going to do anything rash; I didn't want to chase him off.

"It doesn't matter if you don't tell me which one got you. I already know which one did," he whispered, leaning in closer, our faces millimeters apart.

So was I that obvious? And here I thought I was being discrete. I pouted some more and turned away from his glorious face, folding my arms.

"Do you really affect me more than I affect you?" I murmured to no one in particular. I felt Edward lean in, and I once again felt his warm breath on my neck. I never got tired of that.

"Oh, you affect me in so many ways, Isabella Swan," he crooned sweetly to me, making me swoon. I sighed dreamily.

"Yeah right," I mumbled. Did I ever make him swoon, or dazzle him the way he dazzled me? I didn't think so. Did I turn heads every time I turned around? Nope. But Edward did. So what could I possibly do to make him like me?

He sighed, and his sweet breath saturated my hair.

"You do. And if you want, I'll explain how," he said. I nodded and turned around, noticing something over his shoulder. I sighed.

"Not now, though. We have a couple of stalkers on our hands," I breathed, nodding toward his groupies. He turned around to look at them. They squealed when they saw his face. He turned his head back to me and rolled his eyes and laughed his delightful laugh.

"Later then. One thing I know for sure, Bella, is that I like you. I know we don't know each other very well, but I'm learning more. I know my feelings. Now, do you like me?" he murmured to me, while playing with his fingers. I felt my face soften.

"Yes, I like you. A lot. More than you can imagine. And I don't care if we don't know each other very well. All I know is that I want to know more about you," I said, blushing all the while. He looked up at me, and his face broke into a heart throbbing smile.

"Good. I'll call you later and we can make plans to get together sometime soon, ok?" he said. I nodded. He smiled winningly and kissed my cheek sweetly.

"Goodbye," he said, waving over his shoulder as he walked towards his car.

"Bye!" I called. I couldn't believe it. He liked me. He really liked me! Take that, you stupid groupies! I thought evilly to the girls who watched him with a dreamy face. I rolled my eyes at my stupid thoughts and took out my cell phone to call Alice while I walked to my car.

"You are so lucky, girl!" one of the girls yelled to me, frowning a little. I sighed and and held the phone to my ear.

"Alice speaking!" her voice chirped onto the phone.

"Hey, it's me. Are you still up to go to the mall?" I asked, climbing into my truck.

"Yes! There are a million things that I want to get," she bubbled. "First, we need to get you a new wardrobe. I'm thinking the clothes you have now are a little last season, but that's my fault. I haven't brought you along with me to the mall in a while! And then, we need to make you make plans with Edward. I wouldn't really say that you guys have a date yet, but I guess you could call it that. I just don't want to make you seem desperate. Usually it's the guys that ask out the girls, not vice versa," she rambled on.

"Alice! We can talk about this at the mall," I said grudgingly. I wasn't a big fan of the mall. She squealed really loud.

"Meet us there! Love you," she said and hung up. I flipped my phone shut and started the car, thinking.

I realized that I was being too obvious with Edward. He knew that I liked him a lot. That made me seem really desperate, and nobody liked a desperate person. My face was stained red, and my lip was sore from me biting it. I didn't that that was very attractive. But the more I was self conscious, the less appealing I was, I realized. I couldn't keep letting Edward do that to me. He knew that he affected me, but I didn't know for sure if I affected him. He said that I did, but how would I know if he was lying? I was going to have to do something about that. And if Edward was going to make plans with me like he said he would, I would get him back. I would see if I _really _affected him. Oh, it was on. I was going to explain my plan to Rosalie and Alice when I got to the mall.

The traffic was really bad. It took me about an hour to get there half way, because I was stuck in a traffic jam the whole time. I was sure that Alice would be mad at me, but she would have to understand. It wasn't like this was a life or death situation. Of course, it probably was to Rosalie or Alice, but still. I couldn't control the traffic.

When I was about half way there, I couldn't take it. I let out a frustrated squeak and banged my head on the steering wheel repeatedly. I was so excited to get there and tell Alice and Rosalie, but that was just my luck.

I heard a tap on my door.

"Bella? Is that you?" I heard someone's voice say through my open window. I quickly picked up my head off of the steering wheel and fixed my hair, turning to my open window. I screeched a little when I saw who it was.

It was none other than my own personal stalker. Mike Newton.

"W-what are you doing?" I asked frantically. I reached for the thing so I could roll up my window, but he reached his hand in and stopped me.

"Bella, I know we got off of the wrong foot. I really think that we should be together. Just give it a chance," he said pleadingly.

"Go back to your car! This is a crowded street; you could get hurt!" I said hysterically. "And I _don't _like you the way you like me. I just want to be friends. Just leave me alone,"

"But we belong together!" he roared. I cringed. "Why would I leave you alone if you are my soul mate?"

"We aren't, Mike. You are really freaking me out. Now go back to your car, your making this traffic jam even worse!" I said.

He frowned. "Listen to me, Bella. I love you. I always have--" he was saying, his face a hard mask of rage.

"Stop it," I quipped. This man did not know anything about love. Neither did I, but I couldn't take this anymore. "I don't want to hear anymore of your nonsense. We _don't _belong together, and you _don't _love me. You think you do. How would we belong together if I don't like you? I just want to be friends. But right now I have bigger things to stress about, and I don't want to add you to the list. Right now I am seriously questioning your sanity; you are standing in the middle of a crowded street to declare your love to me. Well, you don't love me. You are making a fool of yourself, and you _are _a fool. Now go back to your car, and think about something that makes sense," I said sharply to him, glaring at him the whole time.

I normally didn't do this. This was something that Rosalie would do. I guessed living with her rubbed off on me. But it annoyed me to know end, _and _freaked me out. He seriously needed therapy.

His face looked taken aback, and he looked speechless. I took that moment to hurriedly roll up my window. My luck was working with me; the line started to move, so I drove away, leaving a speechless stalker behind.

It turns out that there really was a car crash. When I drove by, I saw the bodies that they were putting in the ambulance car, making me feel bad for them. Their families were probably in grief. I hated thinking about that. It made me think about what would happen if Rosalie or Alice or Charlie or Renee died. I wouldn't think I would be able to bear it. I would give my life for those people. I loved them dearly, and they were my life.

It made me think: Would anyone in this world die for me? I was told that there were at least 2 people that would die for you, and every day, there was someone thinking of you. I've always wondered if that was true. It made me feel a little special, knowing that someone would be willing to die for me, and someone was always thinking of me.

When I finally made it to the mall, I hurried and picked a parking space, turned off my car, and climbed out, humming the chorus to the song Mambo Number 5, by Lou Bega. **(a/n lol I love that song)**

I pulled up my jeans, because it kept falling down. That's why I didn't like to wear low rise jeans. They were so annoying. I pushed up the sleeves of my jacket, because it was too cold to take it off, but it was a little warm in the jacket. I pulled all of my hair to one shoulder, stuffing my keys in my pocket, pulling out my cell phone, and hurried into the building.

I quickly dialed Rose's number and held the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" Rosalie's voice said into the phone.

I frowned. "Where am I supposed to meet you two?" I asked her, a little out of breath.

"Foot Locker," she said in a tone that made me think she was checking her nails. "Alice is beyond pissed, you know," she added.

I groaned. "I'll explain why I'm late when I see you. Love you," I said.

"Love you, too. Bye hon," she said and hung up. I flipped my phone shut and hurried towards the Foot Locker. Why were they in that store? That store had shoes for athletic events, and it was boy shoe store. They had girl shoes, but they didn't have much girl shoes.

I reached the little store and ran into it, scanning for Alice and Rosalie. I saw Alice pacing back and forth, while Rosalie was craning her neck to get a good look at the cash register, it seemed.

"_Where_ the hell have you been?" Alice demanded once I was in hearing range. "We've been waiting for, like, 2 hours!"

"I was stuck in traffic," I said, trying to keep my voice low, so Alice would catch on. People were watching.

"Well, now that you are _finally _here, we can go. I've been here the whole time with Rosalie. I never thought I would say this, but I'm getting sick of looking at these shoes!" she yelled, flailing her arms. She seemed a little crazy, to me.

"Why didn't you two just wait in the food court?" I asked her curiously, sitting down on the bench where you could try on your shoes.

"There are cute guys in here," she said simply. "Rosalie talked to some guy she really liked, and she's been waiting to see him ever since,"

I raised my eyebrows at her. It took a lot from a guy to get Rosalie to really like them. She shrugged at me and took my hand.

"We'll find him later. He _was _unbelievably gorgeous, but we need to find you a perfect outfit," Rosalie said nicely. That was nice of her.

I smiled at her and stood up, taking Alice's hand as well.

"So did anything special happen to you while you were at the library? Your face is glowing," Alice said conversationally.

I nodded. "I ran into Edward," I squeaked. Both Rosalie's eyes and Alice's widened. I told them everything, from the pick up lines, to him telling me that he liked me, and then I told them about how I told Mike off

"Wow, Bella. We've really taught you well," Rosalie said when I told them about how I told Mike off.

"You haven't taught me anything," I defended myself, sticking my nose in the air. Rosalie laughed, playfully smacking my arm.

"You probably wouldn't know how to do that if you've never witnessed me doing it," she said. I nodded; that was true. No one could tell off anyone like Rosalie could. I never liked to get her mad.

"Oh, who cares about Mike? The important thing here is the Edward likes you, Bella!" Alice squealed, while Rosalie did the same, except not quite as loud.

"Uh, are you forgetting that people around you have something called _eardrums_?" I questioned them, covering my ears with both hands. "Just because your excited about something, doesn't mean that I've magically become deaf,"

They both laughed.

"But there's been something I've been meaning to tell you two," I told them once they stopped laughing. They looked at me curiously, both linking arms with me. "Well, you know how you are always telling me not to seem desperate? Well, Edward and I were teasing each other about how we got each other with our pick up lines, and he said he knew which one got me. I was being too obvious. He told me that I affected him just as much as he affected me, but how can I know if that's true? So, I was thinking, if Edward asks me out anytime soon, I want to try my hand in seduction and see if I can affect him at all," I explained.

"Great idea, Bella!" Alice squealed.

"We are going to have to teach you what we know," Rosalie said wisely. "Alice and I are the queens of seduction, you will do just fine,"

I smiled and hugged them both. "Now let's go shopping!" I said with false enthusiasm. They laughed at my attempt and pulled me along with them.

* * *

After many different stores, a million stops in the dressing rooms each, and much arguing about which clothes we would get me, we were finally finished 3 hours later.

I had a lot of pairs of new pants that I wanted, and Alice and Rosalie approved. There were a few shirts that we got that I was sure I would never wear, but I got them anyway. We found a few dresses that I really liked. That was my favorite part; trying on the dresses, and twirling around in them for Alice and Rosalie to critique. Shopping could actually be fun if your heart was in it.

It still wasn't my favorite thing to do.

And their credit cards seemed to never max out! They told me to never feel bad when they bought things for me, because I was their friend, and that I should be happy that they were spending money on me. I wasn't happy about it, but they insisted....

While we were chatting animatedly, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket, and my heart seemed to jump out of my chest when I saw it was Edward calling. I smiled and answered it.

"Hello?" I answered the phone breathlessly.

"Bella?" Edwards voice said on the other line. I bit my lip.

"Yes, this is Bella," I said.

"I was wondering, would you be willing to go out with me tonight?" he asked me.

"Of course I'd like to go out with you," I said shyly, staring down at my hands. I felt Alice and Rosalie watching me. "Where will we be going?"

"Well, that's a surprise. Don't dress up too much, that's all I'll tell you," he said mysteriously.

"Can you please tell me where we are going? I hate surprises," I whined.

He chuckled. "Yes, but I for one like surprises," he said.

"_Please?_" I breathed. "Please can you tell me where we are going?"

"No. Listen, I'm going to need you to give me your address so I can pick you up," he said. I waited for him to get a paper and pen and told him my address.

"Please tell me where we are going," I said to Edward, trying one more time.

"Not a chance. I'll pick you up at 7:00. Goodbye, Bella," he said cryptically and hung up the phone. I pouted and flipped my own phone shut.

"Well, what did he say?" Rosalie asked impatiently.

"He said he is taking me out tonight, and he won't tell me where we are going," I said. Alice and Rosalie smiled. "He also said to not dress up too much,"

"Ok," Alice said. "We can deal with that. I wonder where he is taking you,"

"That is so sexy; him being all mysterious like that," Rosalie said, biting her lip, probably thinking about the guy that she met earlier.

"Let's go home now, so we can teach Bella what we know, and dress her up!" Alice said excitedly, grabbing both of our hands and dragging us outside. "Bella, you follow us home with your car," she ordered me.

I nodded and pulled out my keys. I got into my truck and started it, waiting for Alice's yellow Porsche to pull out of the parking lot so I could follow it.

The traffic wasn't nearly as bad as it was when I was driving to the mall. I fact, there weren't much cars at all.

When we got home, I was immediately attacked by both Rosalie and Alice. They yanked me up the stairs and sat me in Alice's bathroom in front of her mirror.

"So, Bella, we are going to make you a hot mama!" Alice giggled. She instructed Rosalie to do my hair as she sat on the edge of the counter and began applying different things to my face. Surprisingly they both took it slow and unlike Alice, Rosalie was being really gentle with my hair. Alice just loved to yank my hair around.

"How do you feel about Edward, Bella? I mean, straight from your heart," Alice said conversationally, yet not taking her concentration off the eyeliner held in her hand.

I thought for a moment, trying to gather up all of my feelings I had for him. "It feels... different, more than anything. I'm not used to thinking about a guy every second. I mean, when I think about him, my heart speeds up and my stomach does flip flops. When I hear his voice on the phone, I feel really special. I mean, it also feels unreal. And especially coming from a guy like him. He is perfect; and angel sent down from heaven," I rolled my eyes at how dumb that sounded. "I really like him, but I'm afraid that he doesn't like me as much as I like him,"

Rosalie took interest and stopped brushing my hair to look at me through the mirror. "That's really sweet Bella. But he'd be a fool to not like you," she said, giving me a hard look.

I looked down at my hands. "Well, that's easy for you two to say. I mean, who doesn't like you? You are both so perfect. I have so many flaws that I can't even count them," I sighed.

Rosalie sighed dramatically and grabbed the hair curler off the counter and let it heat up as she spoke. "Alice and I both have flaws, Bella. We aren't perfect. But the thing about us, is that we have _confidence. _That's the key. If I think my hair is not cooperating, I still walk outside and act like I meant it to look that way," she said. That was easy for her to say. They were both so brave, whereas I made the cowardly lion seem like the terminator.

"I'm not brave like you two are," I mumbled. I looked up a little, so Alice could have better access for brushing on my mascara.

"What are you talking about? The way you told off Mike was very brave of you," Alice contradicted me. "Believe in yourself! I mean, if I want someone to do something, I can get them to do it, because I have _confidence_," she said, emphasizing the last words. I rolled my eyes.

"Alice, you are known for many things, and tricking people into doing what you want is one of those things," I said, while she giggled. "You and Rosalie make quite the duo; you both have a knack for getting what you want. Your both so devious,"

Alice cackled. "I'm surprised you haven't turned out so evil like us, Bella. After all this time you're still so innocent. With Rose and I put together, you'll become more like us in just a matter of time!" she declared, while Rosalie laughed, curling a section of my hair.

"That doesn't sound very appealing to me," I said flatly.

Oh trust me," Rose stated. "You'll find someone you want to exact revenge on and you'll be glad you learned from us, young grasshopper."

Oh? So now I had a new nick name? I giggled a little. "Whatever you say. I won't bet against that."

"Damn straight you won't." Alice snapped.

"Jeez," I muttered and held my hands up in surrender. Rosalie laughed.

Alice had finished with my make up, but had me looking down the whole time so I wouldn't be able to see what I looked like in the mirror.

"Bella, you're so pretty," Alice said sweetly. I rolled my eyes.

"And you're saying this right after you did my make up," I said sarcastically.

"No, I'm serious! I mean, my make up expertise does help, but still. I don't see why are you so self conscious," she said, wiping something off my face.

"Like I said, I'm not you," I said, but then changed the subject. "So are you going give me seduction tips or what?" I asked them both, expectant.

"Oh!" Rosalie perked up. She dropped a piece of my hair leaned forward, clearly excited for this. "When you are standing by him, brush your hand by his," she advised.

"If he's smart, he'll take your hand," Alice added.

"If you are close enough, and he seems comfortable with you, lean your head on his shoulder and breathe slowly on his neck," Rosalie said.

"If he flinches from that, keep your head there, but kiss his neck occasionally," Alice said.

"Don't let him get to you so easily. Play hard to get, sort of," Rosalie said.

They continued to give me tips and advice, and I tried to keep track of it all. _Bat your eyelashes at him, let him know you like him, and give him a sassy look. _Or _Don't let him be too dominant, but let him. You don't want him to think you are man-handling him. Guys like to know that they are in charge_. They were really good that it.

When they finished my hair, Alice let me look up. "Ta-da!" she said, smiling at me. I gasped, and my jaw dropped as I stared at the girl in the mirror. My brown eyes stood out more than before with dark eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara perfectly lined. My lips were shiny with a light pink shade of lip gloss. My hair looked as though it were done by a professional; the curls were done in a perfect pattern and made my hair slightly shorter.

"Well, what do you think?" Rosalie prompted but stifled a giggle at the expression on my face.

"You two are amazing!" I gasped and turned away from the mirror, it was hard, but I held back my happy tears. For once I not only looked, but felt beautiful. "Thank you!" I pulled them both into a tight group hug and they only laughed more, happy I accepted what they did.

Once I got over my new look, they pulled me into Alice's room, picking up an outfit for me to put on.

"Here. We should have enough time to get that on you, and go over what we talk you, with possibly 10 minuets to spare, if I'm correct," Alice said, handing me some clothes. I was sure she was going to be right; it always seemed like Alice could see the future.

My outfit was simple, but still cute. I was wearing gray leggings that went to my knees with the short dress I wore. I wore the leggings because I didn't want to just flaunt my body. I wasn't a _slut._ My dress was white and flowy, very pretty. It went about 3 inches past my private part, so you can guess why they gave me the leggings. The shirt I wore under it was a tight fitting short sleeved black shirt, because it was strapless, and it was cold outside, with a cute white jacket over it all. My shoes were black ballet flats with a bow on the top.

When I stepped out of my room, Alice and Rosalie squealed. "You look so beautiful, Bella! Edward would be a fool to not like you," Alice said, stepping back to admire her work. I ran into her room to look at myself in her full sized mirror.

I really _did _look good. The dress made my form look more petite than it was, and I looked a little dainty, but in a cute way. My face was absolutely glowing, and the colors I wore worked well with my pale skin.

"Now, to make you perfect, let's go over what you know," Rosalie said. I took a deep breath and walked over her, putting on a face of confidence.

"That's it, Bella!" Alice said. "Rosalie will be Edward,"

I nodded and leaned my head on her shoulder. I tilted my head up and started to breathe slowly, in and out, in and out. I pressed my lips to the base of her neck and let it linger, and when I withdrew my lips, I kept my face by her neck, still breathing.

I pulled away when I thought I did well enough. Rosalie was exchanging a look with Alice.

"What? Didn't I do ok?" I asked, wondering if I did as good of a job as I thought I did.

"You did, Bella! We never thought you had it in you!" Rosalie said. I smirked and twirled around, teasing a little.

Rosalie and Alice both high fived, and stood by each other, watching me with satisfied looks on their faces.

"We have created the perfect woman. A woman of a mans dreams," Rosalie said, while Alice rubbed her chin.

"Yes, we are perrrfect," Alice said in a French accent. I laughed.

"Oh, 'er laugh ees so delightful! Look at 'er beautiful smile!" Rosalie said in her French accent. I rolled my eyes and giggled.

"Aw, I love you both so much! Thank you for helping me!" I said and ran up to them, giving them both a hug. They hugged me tight for a little bit until we heard the door bell ring.

I let go of them as my breathing sped up and my heart rate increased. I ran over to the mirror, giving myself one last once over.

Sigh. I looked perfect.

"Come on, Bella! We are going to give Edward a once over," Alice said as she took my hand to lead my down stairs. Of course they wanted to meet him.

"Just don't embarrass me," I warned them. "I already do enough of that by myself,"

"Oh, Bella. Would be do that to you?" Alice said, smiling angelically at me. I sighed. That girl had powers.

I hurried over to the door, ridiculously eager, and wrenched the door open.

I breathed a sigh a relief as I looked at his beautiful face. I don't know why I felt relieved. It felt like I was in pain, but it had all went away, by just one look at his face.

"Hello, Bella," he said quietly, as he looked me over. His eyes widened a little. "I must say, you look stunning. Even more than usual, if that's possible,"

I blushed and but my lip. "You look good yourself, too," I complimented him. He was wearing a blue button up shirt, with a few of the top buttons unbuttoned, showing off his perfectly toned chest, with the cuffs rolled up, and a simple pair of blue jeans. I was appalled by how good he looked. And his stance made him look like he was in a photo shoot for a fashion magazine. I wished I looked like that.

But I looked back at Rosalie and Alice, who were watching us silently, and I remembered the confidence I needed to have.

"I'd like you to meet my friends Alice and Rosalie," I said, gesturing him in. He smiled and walked in. When Alice saw him, she raised her eyebrows, while Rosalie looked impressed.

"Hi, my name is Alice," she said perkily, sticking out her tiny hand to shake his.

He smiled charmingly at her and took it. "As you know, I'm Edward," he said smoothly.

"My name is Rosalie," Rosalie said, offering her hand to his. I was amazed by how graceful they all were when they were shaking hands. My hands would have been shaking if I just met him. They both had they confidence that they wanted me to have. I was so jealous of that.

"I've heard a lot about you two," Edward said conversationally.

Alice and Rosalie looked flattered. "Well, we've heard quite a bit about you, too," Rosalie giggled as she elbowed Alice. I felt my face burn; they were probably going to mention me having sex dreams about him.

"Ok, well, Edward and I should be on our way out," I said loudly, grabbing Edward's arm and leading him outside.

"It was nice to meet you two," Edward said to them both, startled by my behavior. If I wanted to affect him, I wasn't about to let him know I even thought about him in my _dreams. _

"It was nice to meet you, too!" Alice called. I pulled Edward outside. "Oh, and Bella? Don't get that jacket you're wearing dirty! It's vintage!" she yelled frantically. I laughed, but shut the door. Of course she was worried about that.

"Well, I'm ready to go," I said to him. He smiled at me and led me to his Volvo.

He opened the door for me gestured for me to go in. "Thank you," I said. He only smiled charmingly.

I took a deep breath. Remember their tips, Bella, I had to keep reminding myself. Because this night was sure to be something to remember.

**A/N OH my. I wonder what's gonna happen next! Ha ha, just so you know, this is has 10,771 words. I hope the length of it makes up for my lack of update. I promise I'll get the next chapter out soon, ok? I hope so. Actually, I'm not making any promises. Just know that I try really hard. Oh, and there will be some Rosalie and Emmett and Jasper and Alice interaction next chapter, I promise. I know you guys are waiting for that! Next chapter is Bella's date with Edward! Please review, people! Here's your motivation: Edward calling you beautiful. Now wouldn't you like that? Please review! It would make my day! =]**

**xoxo  
Lucy**


	6. Kiss Me

**A/N: You people are probably very happy campers! That long chapter made you happy, didn't it? Ha ha, I was very satisfied with it. I love making Edward flirt with Bella! I want to make this a/n note as short as possible so we can get to the story, but I am just so happy right now! I always have something to say, so I'm sorry if you guys hate my long a/n's! I truly am sorry! I have been typing my poor fingers off for you people, so you had better appreciate this, lol! This chapter is shorter than the other one, but that's alright, isn't it? lol ok so actually, I decided, we'll have some romance bloom between Jasper, Alice and Emmett and Rosalie. We need them to participate, not just Bella and Edward, lol. This is dedicated to every single reviewer, and everyone who has been faithful to this story! Thank you all so much!**

**1,295 hits?! wow, you guys.**

**I LUBBY you, Liv! You are so funny. AHAHA! I looked back at that Becca review and I can't stop laughing --giggle-- it's so gross that it's funny! i have a SICK sense of humor. I am a VERY dirty girl.. hehe. tee hee and then, Liv, you said she was a freak. HA HA! --laughs uncontrollably for about 5 minutes-- ok lol I think I'm over that. I love you, Liv!  
**

**if y'all think that Mike stalking her is a bit over the top, I don't mean it to be like that. It's just a side activity that freaks Bella out, but doesn't get too worried about that cuz she knows he much too much of a priss to try anything. like rape her. GAH! whatever. lol.**

**Ooh, and the little note Alice is trying to keep secret from Bella? Ah, I don't get this asked enough. It's all part of the plan, my dears. It's just gonna be a little surprise for Bella! hahahaha i'm evil.**

**I keep listening to the song called "Just Dance" over and over again. I'm a weirdo. That was just a FYI. I didn't really need to tell you guys that, but what can I say? I am a very random person!**

**I always hate beginning chapters, because it takes me a while to get in a nice flow, so I'm sorry if the beginning of chapters are always so rocky. If you've noticed, the middle of my chapters are always the best. Again, sorry if it's having a rocky start. I have a short attention span, so it's taking a lot from me to write a story. I get bored of things easily, but I'm trying to stick with you people. I'm actually enjoying this! =] I love reading your reviews!**

**Now, I know that this story isn't really Bella looking for her Mr. Right, cuz we all know that Edward is that person, am i right or am i right? Anyway, this will just be about how Bella learns about love, how Edward leads her to the light of love and happiness, how she learns to trust other people, and her first physical experiences with... you know who (--cough-- Edward --cough--). She will learn that life isn't as easy as it seems and she will begin to have that confidence she wishes she has soon, so this story will be a lesson for her. I hope that's all right for y'all. **

**I'm always intending on making my a/n's short, but I never succeed. They always end up being about as long as the chapter. I'm sorry, lol. **

**I want to ask everyone this: Have you ever tried to tuck in your hair, but ended up poking yourself in the eye? I just did that! Stupid freaking hair, lol. ha ha Seriously, tell me if that has happened to you. I'm curious. Ok, I'm going to shut up now. Now, my dears, read how Bella makes a fool of herself! lol here is your chapter 6! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of it's characters, I only wish I did. They belong to the beloved Stephenie Meyer, our God, and our Queen. Big round of applause to you! woot!**

* * *

Chapter 6

The ride to wherever Edward was taking me was spent in comfortable silence for the most part, just listening to the soft music coming out of his speakers. I kept shooting nervous glances at him, anxious, and amazed at how calm he was being. But then again, he wasn't about to try and seduce me.

Oh, he was really good at flirting! If he wanted to, he could seduce me. It wouldn't take much. He knew my weak spots by just experimenting. And that wasn't good. It made me a little angry, knowing I was being too obvious with him.

And it was clearly obvious that I was completely infatuated with Edward.

He knew I was putty, I was sure. I was putty in his capable hands, and that made me mad. But it wasn't like he would take advantage of that, I was sure. From what I knew, he seemed like a really nice guy, very genuine. But Mike... I was sure that if he was in the least bit of charming as Edward was, he would try and get me to fall in love with him.

Of course, Mike wasn't even endearing, so it wasn't really possible that he could be charming. I was the kind of girl that found innocent attractive. Sometimes. I never really spent most of my time thinking about boys. And it really _was _odd of me to find innocence attractive. But I always had soft spots for odd ones out, because I was the same way.

Well, innocence wasn't really attractive, but endearing. And Mike was the complete opposite of endearing. That was why I was so glad that I met Edward, instead of some pig. I shook Mike out of my thoughts, wondering how he got there anyways.

Now, Edward had his hands over my eyes, covering my eyes to keep me from knowing where we were. Having my eyes covered sort of made me worried, wondering if I was going to trip. I knew better, though. Especially with Edward's arms around me.

To prove that point, he had one arm around my waist, and his free hand was covering my eyes. He was breathing slowly on my neck, a flirting gesture, something that I was supposed to do if I were going to seduce him, which I was.

Except, I was sure that he would be better at it than I was. And he _was_. My legs went weak, just from the close proximity. It was a good thing that he had his arm around my waste, other wise I would have collapsed.

I had to remember that this was my night, my night to shine, and show him that I _could_ affect him. At least, I thought I could. I just needed to know if he liked me nearly as much as I liked him. With the help I had with Rosalie and Alice, I was sure to at least have some sort of skill in trying to seduce Edward. So I didn't care that I was going to most likely make a fool of myself; I just wanted to try.

But these feelings were so hard for me to even think. Those emotions of mine made my head hurt. Just like Alice and Rosalie and I said when we realized that the men that we dated sucked: _Of course _I would like the guy more than he liked me. And the guy was Edward. Sure, he was a nice guy. But how would I know if his feelings were the least bit as strong as mine? Who knows, he could have felt this way with another girl before me. All I knew was that my feelings were strong for him, and they confused me. It scared me when ever I got closer to him. I didn't want to get hurt.

"Are you excited to find out what where our first date will be?" Edward whispered into my ear, his warm breath tickling my ear, breaking my train of thought. I was a little startled to feel my body pressed up against his, his lips pressed against my ear, his velvety voice muted. I realized that he didn't have to hold me quite as tight as he was, not that I was complaining.

"Yes," I breathed, leaning into him a little. I heard his soft laughter in my ear, music to my ears. Literally.

I was also surprised that he said 'first date'. I was ecstatic that this was our first date; I just didn't realize that it _would _be considered as a date.

"We are almost there," he murmured into my ear, his sweet breath blowing across the right side of my face. I swallowed and felt my heart race. I heard his soft chuckle in my ear; did he hear my heart beat? Was it that loud?

It was time for me to put my foot down. I was waiting too long to put the plan in action, so I was going to start my plan once we were there.

I heard lots of chatter, and the air was cold. We were still outside, and the air smelt of pure water, and some burning. I heard several giggles as we walked by; I was sure it was because of Edward's stunning beauty. A low whistle and a chuckle from the distance surprised me, as did Edward's soft growl.

Edward finally came to a stop, and then uncovered my eyes. I gasped. We were in a beautiful park, with flowers, and fountain, and lights on the trees. There were many couples walking with each other, holding hands. What made it even more beautiful was the full moon. I felt a smile play across my lips.

I pressed my lips together, feeling happy. I looked over at Edward and saw that he was watching my silently with a small smile on his lips. It was an unusual first date, but I liked it. It wasn't a cheesy dinner at some cheesy restaurant. I didn't know what Edward had in store. I blinked back a tear, feeling touched. Edward was so creative.

I could be so overly emotional. Sometimes it was PMS, other times it was because I was a big baby. I wanted to blame it on PMS, but it wasn't even my time of the month. It was because I was a big baby that a few tears slipped from my eyes. I didn't know what made me cry. Was it because I was happy to be standing by the most wonderful man alive? That was certainly part of it. Or was it because of the beautiful night sky that got to me?

I quickly tried to wipe away the tears, for fear that it would leave black streaks. Edward smiled slightly and caught a tear on his finger tip that I missed. I small laugh bubbled from my lips and more tears slipped down my face, making me seem hysterical.

They streamed down even faster as Edward's face broke out into the most breathtaking smile. What was wrong with me? I screamed to myself mentally and frantically.

I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by the happiness that washed over me. I was never as happy as I felt at this moment, not in a long time, and it seemed like I was just beginning to figure out my emotions. It seemed like it was always in a mixed jumble, but whenever I was with Edward, I could just un code them. And here I always thought that it was cheesy when girls couldn't do anything without the man they loved.

But, I didn't _love_ Edward, I just liked him intensely. It was far too soon for me to be thinking about love.

I shook my head and the teary feelings went away, a big grin replacing it.

"What do you think?" he asked, gesturing around.

I teased him a little by putting my finger on my lip, pretending to think. "Hmm... it's _is _a little different than most things... but... I like it," I smiled.

"Well, it is different, isn't it? But I figured I would bring you to a place that meant something to me," he said, casually taking my hand and leading me down a beautifully lighten path.

"How is this place important to you?" I asked him curiously.

He shrugged. "This was the park that my mother last took me before she died," he said indifferently. I raised my eyebrows.

"Your mother died?" I asked him, a dent forming in between my eyebrows. He nodded, looking down at the ground.

"Both of my parents died, actually," he said. I held a hand to my chest, my mouth open.

"Edward," I smiled, feeling touched again. "That is very thoughtful of you to bring me to a place that is important to you,"

He sighed and smiled at me. "Let's play twenty questions," he suggested, changing the subject. I laughed.

"Twenty questions?" I asked him curiously, quirking my brow at him. Twenty questions was something I've never played before.

"Yes," he said, not seeing anything weird about it.

"One condition. I get to ask a question after you, and vice versa," I said, while he nodded.

"Deal," he said.

"Ask away!" I said sarcastically, giggling.

"Hmm..." he said, tapping his chin, teasing. "What is your middle name?"

"Marie," I said simply. He cocked his head to the side and seemed to think about that. His question made me curious.

"What is _your_ middle name?" I asked him.

He hesitated, and didn't answer right away. I raised both of my eyebrows and threatened, "If you don't answer, I'll assume that it is something bad."

"Fine. It's Anthony," he mumbled, his face going a little red. I laughed out loud, withdrawing my hand from his to cover my mouth with both of my hands. Did Edward just blush?

"Did you just blush? I didn't know you were capable!" I teased him, trying to stifle my giggles.

He rolled his eyes. "It doesn't help when you are laughing at my middle name," he said, wrinkling his face.

"No, I'm not laughing at your middle name, just at your blush," I giggled some more. He shook his head and looked at me like I was crazy.

"Your turn," I said.

"Who was your last boyfriend?" he asked me, smirking. I narrowed my eyes into slits, my smile gone abruptly.

"Never mind," I said coldly, glaring at him. I knew it wasn't natural for people to act like this when someone asks about recent boyfriends, but my history with boys was embarrassing. I wasn't at all charming. I didn't know how to charm guys or make them fall for me. Example: I was already forgetting that I was supposed to seduce Edward. I just always got caught up in him and his words.

His smile grew wider, finding it amusing. "Why won't you tell me?" he taunted a little.

I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips. "I don't always have the best way with the guys," I said quietly, yet smiling coyly at him.

He nodded. "I see..." he said. I smiled even wider and brushed my hand with his, showing him an example. "You think you aren't good at that," he muttered.

I snorted. "Please. You haven't even seen me try. It's too embarrassing to even do, anyway," I said, shaking my head, but still planning to try something on him. "You, Mr. Pretty boy, are quite the charmer," I said.

"I've charmed you?" he asked, pretending that he didn't know. I frowned.

"You already know," I said. I mean, it was pretty obvious. I didn't really know how to hide my feelings.

"And don't call me pretty boy," He added. I smirked.

"Why not?" I taunted. He frowned at me.

"It's annoying," he said flatly. I laughed out loud, finding that silly.

"No, really?" I said sarcastically. He raised his eyebrows at me, and chuckled.

"Just answer the question Bella, I'm getting old," he said, looking at me expectantly. It was hard to imagine Edward getting old. I didn't even want to think about that. Though I was sure that his vibrant green eyes would never die out. Not even his good looks. His strikingly handsome face seemed like it would last for many years.

"Let me just ask one more," I said, while two girls walked by, whispering in stage whispers, their eyes glued on Edward, walking slower than they should.

"Can you say _hot_? He's Mr. McHottie!" one of the girls giggled.

"He's _gorgeous,_" the other tired to stifle a giggle. Edward looked at them, nodded to them, but then looked away. They giggled again. I was just about to ask Edward if he had any siblings, but those girls just had to ruin it.

"Honestly," I scowled.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Come on. You have to admit it's sort of ridiculous," I said, exasperated.

"What is?" he asked.

Now that I had to define it, I found myself struggling for the right words. "You know, the sa-woon," I said, copying Alice's words she once said. She said that if you really liked a guy, you would get this look on your face. A swoon. _Sa_-woon.

"The what?" he frowned.

"Edward, come on," I said. "Are you seriously not aware of how girls stare at you?"

He rolled his eyes, putting his hands in his pockets, shrugging.

"Seriously. What's it like?" I asked him, biting my lip.

"What's what like?" he asked me, looking at me in a funny way. I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my jacket.

"Being..." I struggled to find the right word, deciding to be blunt with him. "... gorgeous," I finished. A few days earlier, this would have mortified me: I could see myself bursting into flames with shame. But now, I only felt the slightest twinge as I waited for him to answer me.

"I wouldn't know," he said, shrugging again. "You tell me,"

I blushed, but snorted. "We're not talking about me," I reminded him.

"We could be," he said, as he watched a couple pass by.

"I'm not gorgeous," I said flatly.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Yes, you are," he said. I shook up head, know this was him evading the question.

"You," I said, "have this whole pale, tall, handsome, mysterious thing going on. Not to mention the tortured bachelor bit," I giggled. I could tell that he didn't enjoy all the stares whenever I saw him frown every time a girl stared at him.

"Bit?" he questioned.

"You know what I mean," I prompted.

He shook his head, clearly discounting this description. "And you have the whole brunette, cool, and collected, smart girl thing going on," he described me.

"You are the boy that all the girls want to rebel with," I said.

"You," he replied, "are the unattainable girl in homeroom who never gives a guy the time of day."

That was so not true. At least, that's what I thought. I frowned; was that the vibe I was giving off?

"I'm not gorgeous," I said simply. "Not even close."

"Well, then, I'm not tortured. Unless you count this conversation," he chuckled. I rolled my eyes, amazed that we just fought over who was more gorgeous.

"Edward, I'm serious, just answer my question," I said, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.

"What question?" he asked, playing dumb. I rolled my eyes and smacked his arm, while he laughed.

"What's it like to have girls swooning over you?" I asked him.

He turned to give me a hard look. "Bella."

I raised my hands in surrender. "You're the one who wanted to play twenty questions. Don't back out of a question," I reminded him.

He didn't say anything for a minuet, and I wondered if he wasn't going to say anything. "I don't know," he finally said. "It's not something I notice, if it's even happening."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Liar," I accused him.

He turned and looked at me, annoyed. "Fine. It's weird. I mean, it's not like it counts or anything. They don't know me by looking, nobody does. It's totally surface. It's not real," he informed me, looking away.

"Tell that to her," I nodded toward a girl who was ogling him.

"Funny," he muttered, making it a point to look away. "Is it my turn yet?"

I ignored that. "Ok, so if that's not real, what is? What counts, to you?" I asked him.

He shifted his feet, not comfortable. He thought for a second, and then said, "I don't know. Just because someone is pretty doesn't mean she's decent. Or vice versa. I'm not into appearances. I like flaws; I think they make things interesting." Huh. I had flaws, I thought coyly.

I wasn't sure what answer I'd expected. But this wasn't it. For a second, we just stood in silence while I let that sink in.

"You know," I said finally, "saying stuff like that would make girls even crazier for you. Now you're cute _and _somewhat more attainable. If you were appealing before, now you're off the charts," I giggled.

"I don't want to be off the charts," he said, rolling his eyes. "I do, however, want to be off this subject."

"Fine," I allowed. "Go ahead, it's your turn."

I had gotten so caught up in Edward that I didn't even notice that we had stopped walking right before I asked him what it was like when girls swooned over him. We were at another beautiful fountain, just standing by it. A big light was at the top of the fountain, making everything bright, because it had gotten very dark. I was looking up into Edward's striking face, while he answered.

"You still have my question to answer. Who was your last boyfriend, and what's the story?" he asked me, impatient.

I thought for a moment, editing, thinking about what I would say. My eyes drifted towards a couple, and surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, the girl got a lusty face as she looked at Edward. I scowled. Even people who were in relationships were lusting after Edward. I looked at Edward and saw that he was staring off into space, and didn't notice the stare. I shrugged.

"Well, it was back in high school, and this guy asked me out. I was flattered so I said yes, of course. In short, he cheated on me. _Biggest _player in the school," I said, shuddering.

Edward thought about that for a second, frowning. "I wonder why he wasted your relationship," he said rhetorically. I rolled my eyes.

"Like I said, I'm not very good at charming people," I said sadly, shaking my head. Speaking of, I didn't even bother seducing Edward. I stuck my nose in the ear, biting my lip, smiling at him. I knew it was a really lame time to start, but I wanted to make Alice and Rosalie proud.

I heard something in the bush a few yards away, but I ignored it.

"And yet, here you are, flirting with me," he chuckled. I narrowed my eyes at him. "You can have a go at it, if you want to," he suggested, smirking.

I laughed evilly and wrapped my arms around his neck. "You want to see how bad I am at it?" I asked him as seductively as I could. He raised his eyebrows and nodded once.

I took a steadying breath and lowered my head to his neck. I slid my hands onto his shoulder, while I leaned my head back, looking up at him under my lashes, smiling slyly. He smiled. Sort of. I heard his breathing pick up in the slightest way. At least it was something.

I leaned in again, and started to breathe on the neck, trying to breathe hot and heavy, knowing from Alice and Rosalie that it got to guys. I ever so slightly kissed the base of his neck, blushing all the while. I heard Edward's soft laughter, yet his breathed had increased to an extent. I smiled against his name, kissing it again, but then pulled away rather abruptly. I smirked up at Edward, satisfied with myself, even though I just embarrassed myself.

He blinked a few times, but a sexy smile plastered his face. My eyes widened as I took a step away. If I was too close, I would let him know that he got to me easily, and Rosalie had told me to not let that happen. He only took a step closer. I went around him, so that my back was facing the fountain. Not a great idea.

He turned around and looked at me innocently, just the way he had at the library; angelic smile, his vibrant green eyes penetrating mine, some of his hair in his eyes. My heart rate increased as I bit my lip and looked down at the ground, blushing.

"I'm only going to tell you how you affect me. I was under the impression that you wanted to know how you affect me," he purred, smiling wider. I peeked up at him and nodded.

"Yes," I squeaked, unsure of what to do. He leaned in and pressed his lips to my ear, his hands on my shoulders, his warm breath tickling my ear.

"Your beautiful blush is one thing," he said, stroking his hand across my cheek, causing me to blush. He laughed softly. _Damn it_, I growled to myself.

"Your sarcasm," he whispered, kissing the edge of my jaw. "And your wide, inviting warm brown eyes." He started to trail kisses long my color bone.

"The way you smell," he said, dragging his nose along my collar bone.

"Your beautiful smile," he murmured, kissing my right my cheek. "Your angry face," he said, kissing my other cheek.

"And when you pout," he purred, his lips dangerously close to mine.

I took a shaky breath, and backed away. He was much too good at this! This was my night to shine! And here he was, making me swoon as you usual.

Of course, I stupidly forgot that my back was to fountain.

I bumped into the back of it, causing me to tip over. I flailed my arms, and quickly grabbed Edward's shoulder. Apparently, I had gotten him by surprise, so we both fell into the water. I yelped when my skin came in contact with the cold water. The water was only 12 inches, but I fell flat on my back, so I went completely under water. I quickly sat up, shivering.

I looked over at Edward, anxious. He was doubled over in laughter, his eyes alight with amusement. I frowned at him for a minuet, mad that my bad luck finally caught up to me, and that he was laughing at me.

Wait, not at me, but with me, I thought to myself. Plus, he looked really good wet. I let a giggle escape my lips. Pretty soon, it turned into a full out laughing session, with us just sitting in the fountain, soaking wet.

When the wind started to blow, though, I quickly stood up, followed by Edward. I stepped out of the fountain, hugging myself, shivering. A small part of my mind found it ironic that I happened to fall into the fountain with the jacket Alice told me not to ruin. Well, on the upside, it was only a little water.

I also felt bad for Edward, because he didn't have a jacket on. It didn't seem to bother him though; he was still grinning at me. I scowled.

"I'm so sorry!" I said, even though I was still scowling at him.

"No blood, no foul," he said, holding up his arms. I was immediately distracted by the way his shirt clung to his perfectly toned chest. A wild and lusty sort of feeling dominated my body. I quickly shifted my eyes back up to Edward's face. I smiled wistfully.

He smiled gently and drew closer to me. I looked down at the ground. I saw him pick up his feet and walk closer to me. I ducked my head, my face flaming. He planted his feet an inch from mine, while I shivered. He put a finger under my chin, pulling my face up so I had no choice to look at him. And his eyes were like a magnet for my eyes. I saw that he, too, had a wild look to his eyes.

He hesitated, for a second, but he leaned in, so our faces were millimeters apart. He gazed into my eyes, as if asking for permission. To kiss me. My insides were bouncing around, almost Alice-like. I smiled slightly as I shifted my gaze down to his full lips. I parted my lips in anticipation. I looked back up into Edward's eyes, and he must have seen the desire in my eyes, so he closed the distance between us and gently, ever so slightly, he pressed his lips to mine.

He pulled away for the shortest second, but then pressed his lips to mine with more pressure. His fingers splayed against the back of my neck, his other hand grabbing my waist tightly, pulling me as close as I could get. I wrapped my arms around his neck, tip toeing. My lips parted, allowing him to open his lips as well.

My heart started to beat rapidly as I pulled myself as close as I could get. His lips were soft as I moved my lips with his. I melted into him, enjoying the way he tasted....

"Aw! I can't take this anymore! This is so romantic!" a familiar voice cried. Startled, I pulled my lips away from Edward's, reluctantly, to squint out in the dark. A small figure jumped out of the bushes as a taller form followed after, hissing, "Don't!"

My arms were still wrapped around Edward as I squinted, knowing who the voices belonged to.

Just as I predicted, Alice's petite form flung into the light as tears streamed down her face, her face happy.

"This is too cute!" she cried, entwining her fingers together, watching us. "Go on!" she sniffed dabbing her tears away. I frowned.

"What are you doing here?" I asked them, outraged. "Did you girls follow us?"

"No," Rosalie sighed, appearing right beside Alice. "Alice found Jasper at the pizza place, he told her he knew where he was taking her, and he told us. And you might as well come out, you guys!" she yelled the last part.

I pulled my arms away from Edward, blushing, and watched as two forms appeared from the darkness. It was none other than Jasper and Emmett, I sighed.

Rosalie sent a googly eyed look at Emmett, who was grinning at Edward, and said, "We saw the last part, when you guys fell. It took us a while to find you, but we did," she said. I noticed that both she and Alice were wearing black. I rolled my eyes.

Emmett and Jasper walked over to Edward, laughing. Emmett's laugh was booming as he said, "Good job Eddie!" and clapped Edward's back. "Although, I must say, Bella must be a little turned off since you pushed her in the fountain," he chuckled.

"I didn't push her in the fountain," Edward disagreed, glaring at his big brother.

"Oh, Bella! You must be cold! Get over here!" Alice said, running over to me, while I received a big hug from both Alice and Rosalie.

"I'm fine, really," I assured them. I pulled away from them as I walked over to Edward.

I opened my mouth to speak, but then realized that they were all watching me. I stared at them pointedly.

"Oh. I think she wants to talk to Edward privately," Emmett said in a stage whisper, like it wasn't obvious, as he chortled. He smirked at me. "It's nice to see you again, Bella, seeing as the last time I saw you, you made Edward ditch us," he said, grinning at me. I smiled at him and rolled my eyes.

"Goodbye, Emmett," I said. He grinned at me once more, before he walked over to Rosalie.

"You big idiot!" Rosalie scolded him, smacking his arm. Emmett chuckled and apologized. It was cute; they were already acting like a couple. Jasper and Alice had drifted off with each other. I took a deep and turned to Edward.

"I had a great time," I said, smiling up at him. "It was the best first date I've ever had,"

He smiled at me winningly. "I'm glad you liked it," he said, and leaned in once more to finish the kiss that was interrupted by our silly friends.

* * *

**A/N: So? Eh? I KNOW. BELLA'S PLAN TO SEDUCE HIM WENT HORRIBLY WRONG. ha ha. did expect her to succeed? she barley even did anything, i know. so don't say "Bella didn't even barely do anything". I know, I'm evil. And that place that Edward took her to was just a place I made up, so don't try and say anything about that. It's just a part of my imagination! And I wanted Edward and Bella's first date to be sweet, and I thought that what I chose was sweet. I'm sorry if there are some mistakes, like there isn't such thing of something that I happen to mention. It's all part of the story, my dears. I'm just glad that I got this chapter out. Remember, if there are any mistakes, I don't mean them. I don't have a beta, and I'm not perfect. Please review, guys, let's see if we can hit 67 reviews. Tell me your views on this, please! Suggestions are welcome! =]**

**xoxo  
Lucy**


	7. Sex Advice

**A/N: Hey y'all, I'm sure you know about how my sneaky little friend Casey posted that story on my account without my permission. Grr.. ok but I forgave her. I know she lied to be me, but what can I say, she is such a sweetheart. That puppy dog face always gets to me. Ok, surprisingly, I don't have much to say right now. I know, I'm appalled too. Lol. Believe me, I am super surprised. I'd just like that thank everyone! This story is becoming such a hit --dances around like a mother trying to be hip-- lol ok. Awkward. I love you Liv!!! You're so adorable. Ok wait I think I lied when I said that I didn't have much to say. What can I say? I love to talk. I just think that I should mention some names, so don't get mad at the length... he he. (Ok, I'm sorry edward-n-bella-fr-eternity1207, I never mentioned you. you are an awesome chick, young lass)**

**Ok, here are my original reviewers! Jaspermytwin, a pretty awesome reviewer, lol. littlelamb188, my right hand chick right there. (ha ha i hope you weren't too embarrassed with the incident with the sun glasses! heh heh.) edward-n-bella-fr-eternity1207 yeah she's awesome. Zoella De Vil, i think you love the word awesome.. lol.. same here, my dear. lol, love ya. TwilightFan09 you are a CRAZY girl.. i like it... heh i am so joking. you're so cool! The Real Carlyle Cullen.. your a coolio. lol. Uh, LivForLove! woot! she's my bitch. lol i love that girl! =] IheartTHEcullens, and she is also my lab partner at school, tee hee. well, those peeps always review every chapter! i appreciate that so much! I love you people!**

**As for the new comers? AHA-- Courtcullen! wildazkoda! Quiet and Invisible! Sophia24! Becca... ya you are sort of crazy, but hey, you're reading my story! go you! Unseen Wonder! TwilightFan10011! humorme17, love you girl! Vi0lentSerenity (ok i had some trouble spelling that, lol. glad you like this story!) Cerrydwen! OnceUponATime170! sunshinerosesandDEATH! hehe TwilightSasukeLover! lildv274. phew! got that done! welcome aboard, young lasses! (sorry if i didn't get your name on here, just tell me if i didn't, and i'll mention you later. i just don't feel like looking through the reviews all day) I love y'all for reading this! --gives each of you an individual hug—**

**Ok, thank y'all for being so patient with me. I'm annoying aren't I. one of those people up there speak french, but I'm a little dim to remember. tell me who it is, in a review, will ya, if it was you? i love you all! and you too, liv. ha ha. Dear God, though. Every time I look at the traffic for this story, let me just say: HOLY FREAKING SH*T! you people are like.. wow. you people motivate the crap out of me.  
**

**Hey, umm you guys think that Edward and Bella's relationship is all good now, just 'cause they kissed? Nope! Drama will ensue. Confusion, hurt, comfort. Let's not forget that Bella and Edward are newbies at this, and this love won't be simple to them. So don't worry! They won't automatically fall in love! Well, here is your chapter 7! woohoo!**

**Disclaimer: Even though Steph and I are tight best friends, I sadly don't own Twilight or any of her characters. Damn it!**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 7

"So." Alice said.

"Yeah?" I asked her.

"And what do _you_ hate when guys do something?" she asked. I shrugged and tapped my pink golf ball a little too hard. "Can't Fight This Feeling" played through the Putt-Putt Mini Golf speaker system. There were a lot of things that bugged me.

"That gargling noise guys make in the back of their throats before they hock a loogie six feet. The farther the better, I guess, for them," I said, just warming up. "Or how they can remember every single word to a movie that's twelve years old, but they can't remember what we told them fifteen minuets ago. The way guys scratch their crotch or adjust their junk in public, rummaging around like they are looking for something they misplaced."

Alice and Rosalie giggled. "Seems like you don't like a lot of things that guys do," Alice said.

"Can we please get back on topic?" I whined. We had just finished watching a movie, something that we did every weekend. It always turned out to be Crappy Movie Weekend, as what we saw was basically one long boob joke. It was all girls in tight shirts with butt-like cleavage, with boys falling over their own tongues hanging out of their own mouths, the kind of thing that makes you wonder if there is any truth to evolution after all.

And sometimes the movies would be some PG thing about misfit boys who go to camp, which ends with the two parents who'd both lost their spouses decide to marry. Of course, there are always two white kids (one evil and one good), an Asian kid, one fat kid, and one girl with glasses. It's always worse than those movies where a dog wins a sports championship.

Anyway, after we finish our movie weekend, we always went to a mini putt stadium, and play The Game Of Favorites, something that we played in college to get to know each other. And that game just stuck with us.

Rosalie had just said that her favorite thing in a guy was when he was really mysterious. But Alice said that it was one of the worst things, so she asked me what I hated in a guy.

"Fine," Alice pouted and hit her golf ball lightly.

"What's your favorite scary movie scene?" Rosalie asks us.

"Oooh!" Alice squealed. "That's a good one."

"I try," Rosalie said.

"Mine is from that one Freddy movie where he's under the girls bed, and sliced it through and... she falls underground or something. I forgot how it went. But I woke up with scratches all down my neck," Alice said seriously. I looked at her wordlessly.

"Hey!" Rosalie said. "I remember that! Wasn't that in, like, the eight grade?"

"I think so," Alice said. I sighed. Alice and Rosalie had known each other for a long time and had been friends longer than I have known them. Not that I was jealous or anything.

"Wild," I said sarcastically and tap my pink ball lightly against Rosalie's.

"What's yours?" she asked me. I thought for a minuet, but the only one I could think of is where Edward dies of laughter at me considering that he likes me more than I like him. I shuddered at the thought and decided to pass.

"I pass. You go," I said to Rosalie.

My thoughts wandered off to Edward again, wondering what he was doing. I completely ignored Rosalie's scary movie description, knowing that it was rude of me. I knew it would be awkward to be by him the next time I saw him. What if us kissing had ruined things for us? I always liked a little risk. The problem was; Edward probably liked the chase, the chase to get me. Well, it wasn't much of a chase. He got to me the first time I met him.

There had to be something I could do. Seducing him was out of the question, because we all knew that that was out of my league. Maybe I could... somehow show less admiration? But then he would think that I didn't like him anymore. Edward could be so... cocky, though. He knew how I was. If I gave him the cold shoulder, it would scare him off.

"Beellllaaaa," Alice was saying, waving a hand in front of my face. "Are you alive?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry," I apologized. Alice still looked irritated.

"Are you going to answer the question or not?" she asked impatiently.

"What question?"

"What was one of the most fun times you had in college?"

I giggled. "When we made our 'Brutal Book'." I giggled some more. "I remember we were writing about the most popular girls. On Bridget: _Did the orthodontist remove half of her brain along with her braces?_ On Sara: _She kisses up to Manda and Bridget so much they're crapping strawberry LipSmacker. _On Manda: _If Manda keeps thrusting her ta-tas in Mr. Cole's face, she just might ace Algebra after all._"

We burst into laughter, enjoying the memory. We got in so much trouble when the teacher found that. We were just lucky that he didn't show it to the whole class.

"I remember those girls," Rosalie said, smiling. "They hated us."

"That's because they were intimidated by you and Alice. You girls were their only competition," I said knowingly.

"Whatever! It wasn't like you weren't pretty at all," Alice disagreed.

"Not as much as you two," I said.

Alice rolled her eyes at me and hit her golf ball hard, so it avoided the spinning wheels of the windmill. I frowned; she was really good at it.

"Those girls were so dim-witted," Rosalie went on. "Remember Bridget said that her 'huge ass' held her back from her modeling carrier?"

Alice and and I laughed. "And Manda, who 'hated' her infamous DD-cup rack, yet she continued to show it off in tiny tees and tight sweaters, much to the delight of the college male population," I snickered.

"And let's not forget Sara," Alice chimed in, "whose self-deprecation stems from her belief that she looked like 'a butchy softball player instead of a ballerina', an image reinforced by her nickname 'bruiser'. Her self esteem was permanently trashed since her step mom sent her to fat camp for her fourteenth birthday."

We snorted into laughter, holding on to each other for support. Those girls were so lame that it was funny.

"They even asked me if I was going to get a boob job," I snorted. I would never get a boob job. It's a disgusting procedure -- I saw it performed once on The Learning Channel. The surgeon went in through the belly button. The belly button! He stretched her skin like it was a wad of bubble gum and just pushed and shoved them into place. Ka-boom: Va-va-va-voom. And I was also a little offended that they asked me about that.

"Oh! And do you remember _Scotty_?" Alice cackled. I cringed and tapped my golf ball too lightly. "Dammit!" I yelled.

"He was such a loser. So desperate," Rosalie laughed softly. Scotty was one of the best football players at our school and the best looking; he was a jackass, too. Rosalie and Alice were not virgins back in college, but I was. (And still am). So, him and his friends wanted him to be the first to 'pop my cherry'. What the hell? Anyway, when I found out about it, he told me that he liked me, not just because I was a virgin. And I actually went out with him!

But I knew him before he transformed. He used to be the nerd that always pointed out the colors in his tissue after he blew his nose. If I had ignored him back then, I might have seen his bulging biceps. But I still saw the nerd in him. He was the new horn-ball hot player at our school. Girls saw his big smile; but I saw his hard-on (!) that poked through his gym shorts when he saw me in my gym uniform. Jesus Christ!

"Oooh!" Alice giggling. "Do you remember that infamous Frenching incident?"

I shuddered and nodded. It was one of the worst and most regretful things in my life. I couldn't believe that I even _went out_ with him, let alone let the Frenching incident happen.

"Yes! I remember we were waiting for Bella inside the city bus, and she was outside saying bye to Scotty. I saw that pained look on your face, Bella!" she said. "He totally tried to ram-jam his tongue down your throat during your 'innocent' kiss goodbye."

I winced. "Thank god the bus driver slid the door shut before he swallowed me whole. Apparently his team mates were harassing him to 'slip me the tongue'. Yuck," I shuddered again. I had no idea what he was going to do until I suddenly felt this wet thing flip-flopping around in my mouth like a landlocked fish. So saliva sloppy. And -- god damn this is grosser than gross -- the scratch of his smudgy, prepubescent mustache on my upper lip. Ew! It was as prickly as a daddy long legs. And to think most girls fought the urge to lick the sweat off of his sweaty body during gym. Yum yum.

There was just this different feeling when I kissed Edward, though. He didn't flop his tongue around in my mouth, our jam it down my throat, but he did it in a gentle, passionate way. I swallowed hard at the memory and tried to focus.

And to think that Scotty was my first kiss! I was glad he didn't de-virginanize me. If I was being honest with myself, Edward was the only one worthy enough to take away my virginity. Not that I objected, though. It was just a little too early to be thinking about that kind of stuff, though. We haven't even gone to third base. In fact, I wasn't even sure if we went to _second _base! What _was _second base?!

I hyperventilated until Alice and Rosalie shook it out of me.

"Why are you freaking out?" they asked me, concerned.

"Never mind," I sighed. "Anyway, I'm glad I don't see Scotty anymore."

"Didn't he like, have sex or something, and then they started to call him 'Scott'?" Alice asked, tilting her head to one side.

I nodded and kicked at the fake grass. "Who knows? It isn't like it matters," I said.

Alice patted my back soothingly. "Somethings up," she said knowingly. I sighed and looked at her with weary eyes and decided to let it all burst out.

"Alice, I have no idea what I am doing!" I cried. "I mean, I know that Edward and I have only known each other for like... a week or so, but I have no idea what I am doing! What if he doesn't like me the way I like him? What if he is doing this because I seem like a good chase? Or better yet: what if he's doing this because, and just like Scotty, he knows that I am still a virgin, and wants to 'pop my cherry' and 'make me--"

"Bella!" Alice yelled, her hands on either side of my face, trying to shake some sense into me. "You're crazy! You are over thinking this. You can't just _plan_ your relationship! Let the chips fall where they may. And I seriously doubt that he is doing this because he wants to screw you. Maybe he does want to screw you, but I think he really does like you. I've seen his face when he looks at you. Stop being so god damn insecure all the time!"

I tried to calm my breathing and listen to her words. It was true; I always thought about the bad things that would happen. I was always having these random break downs.

Rosalie, on the other hand, snorted into giggles. "How did this go from us on memory lane to Bella having a nervous break down?" she giggled. I just glared at her wordlessly, which quieted her down.

"I mean, that's what I'm trying to understand," I continued. "I'm trying to understand this. I just don't get it!"

Alice rolled her eyes. "You need a hobby or something. Crochet a beer-can hat. Learn fly fishing. Whatever," she said in an uncaring tone.

"The pursuit of understanding the genius of something is always a worthwhile endeavor," I said wisely to her. Rosalie and Alice just stared at me.

"Did some famous person say that?" Alice asked me, cocking her head to one side. I kept a steady gaze on her.

"No, I just did," I didn't see anything wrong with that. They stared at me again.

"Shit, deprogramming necessary," Rosalie piped in. "We are going to walk down to 7-Eleven. We are going to have a Slurpee. Corn nuts. Or one of those freaky revolving hot dogs. We are going to take an Auto Trader magazine, just because it's free."

I rolled my eyes at them and positioned my golf ball. I examined the windmill and think to the universe, _Please make it real. Please make it happen. _I move my golf ball to the right and swing.

It was a whole in one.

* * *

Alice and Rosalie wanted to stop at Victoria's Secret, for future sex-intimate situations, so that I would be prepared. I grouched to them about that. Would Edward and I have sex soon? Nope. Things were already going to be weird enough. It wasn't like I was going to pounce on him the second I saw him.

Gulp.

"We are going to look for some things for you, Bella. And you have to promise that you will try them on," Rosalie said seriously. I glared at her and folded my arms stubbornly.

"Go do what ever you want to. I'm not promising anything," I said, while they threw a dirty looks at me. I smiled in an annoying way.

They both dashed off, leaving me alone. It felt really awkward to let my eyes rest on a bra for too long, so I decided to look at the floor.

"You look like a fat ass and I wouldn't even bother with trying that on," I heard a nasal voice say behind me, criticizing someone. I turned around and narrowed my eyes when I recognized her as the waitress at the restaurant Edward and I first went out. She noticed my glare and looked at me, and sneered.

"I remember you," she said in an icy tone. "You were with that hot dude. Bet he dumped you, am I right?"

I snorted at her. "Not yet," I said, hating her more and more. She gave me one more nasty look and turned back to a girl with big, brown curly hair, but was very short. Her hair made up for her lack of height.

"Don't try that on. Not unless you want to look like a cow," she was saying to her friend with the curly hair. "I mean, we all know you wish you had a body like mine. But you don't. So go look for something that would actually _fit _you, Jessica."

Jessica's face dropped. "But Lauren, you said that--" she said in a voice that reminded me of someone who gossiped a lot.

"Don't," Lauren sneered.

"Ohmigod! You are so controlling!" Jessica yelled. Lauren froze, and fixed her with an icy glare.

"We all know that you have your personal image because of _me_. Remember that I get all of the guys, and you are second best to them. They will settle for you when I am finished screwing them. Never forget that I say nice things about you, like, 'She has pretty eyes'. If it weren't for me, you would be nothing. You wouldn't even be apart of that sorority in college, remember? I have connections, bitch. Now, go ahead and try it on if you really want to look like a fat lard. Just know that I won't be talking to you anymore, if you do it. It won't be my fault when everyone calls you a skanky bitch," she said in a tone that made me despise her.

"Excuse me," I said to her in a cold voice. "I think that if anyone were to give their opinions, they would call _you_ the skanky bitch. You are so controlling. Jessica does not even look fat, anyways. You are overly confident and cocky, and I wouldn't be so sure of yourself. I bet all the guys come to you because they want to have a good night, and they know you are desperate and easy. You've had the most sex, I'm sure, out of the both of you, so that would make _you_ the whore, and Jessica, uh, not."

Lauren scowled at me, but then smirked. "Well, there is no way a hot man like the one you were out with the other night would be interested in _you_," she said it like a dirty word and shuddered. "Ugh. I bet _you_ are the easy one. He probably wants to screw you, just because you are a virgin. And yes, I bet you are, aren't you? I can tell, with your goody goody type. There's no way anyone like that hot ass person you were with would go out with you. He wants a _tight cat_."

I scoffed at her and blushed, but made a disgusted face at her. _Tight cat_? Yuck. "Whatever. Just remember who's _with_ him, and who's _not,_" I said wisely, stuck my nose in the air, and walked away, noting the grateful look Jessica had on her face.

But then I looked out to the door and saw the cutest little puppy, pawing at the door.

"Aw," I said silently and walked over to the door and went outside to pet the cute little thing.

"Where is your owner? Huh?" I cooed to the dog and bent down next to it to pet it.

It had big brown eyes, it's fur a golden brown; short hair. The puppy's ears were floppy.

"Are you a boy?" I asked it, knowing full well that he or she couldn't talk back. I scratched behind his ears. I was just going to call it a boy.

"You are so cute," I cooed to the dog, kissing the top of his head. He licked my face. I wrinkled my nose and wiped it off with my sleeve and laughed.

"He is cute, isn't he," said a joking voice behind me. I quickly turned around to see who it was.

It was Emmett.

He was grinning at me, his eyes playful.

"Hi Emmett," I said breathlessly. "What are you doing here?"

"Toby over here ran off, and I came to get him," he said, inclining his head towards the dog. Toby wagged his tale.

"This is your dog?" I asked him, and picked up Toby to give to Emmett.

"Nah, he's my mom's friends dog," he chuckled. "And what are _you_, the oh-so-innocent Bella doing at the door of _Victoria's Secret_?" he asked me, wiggling his eyebrows.

I blushed. "Rosalie and Alice dragged me over here, saying that I would need it for future 'intimate' situations," I blurted out.

Emmett smirked. "And who would you be getting intimate with?" he teased me, making me blush even more.

"No one," I said, ducking my head. Emmett laughed loudly, but then stopped rather abruptly.

"Oh, _shit_! Hide me!" he whispered.

"Why?" I whispered back.

"The girl with _the toe_ is coming over here," he whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" I asked him, giggling. He smiled and chuckled.

I looked behind me and saw a rather pretty girl with a beautiful tan riding her bike towards us. I didn't see anything wrong with her, setting aside the fact that she was wearing a really tight fitting tank top with no bra, with really short shorts, even though it wasn't quite warm enough to be wearing those kinds of clothes. But her face seemed really friendly.

"Hi Emmett," she said brightly to him, stopping her bike in front of us.

"Sup, Ashley?" he said in a strained voice. "Nice day today, eh?" he said nervously.

"Beautiful. Is that your dog? And who is this?" she said, eying me, not unkindly. Toby nipped at the hot dog Emmett was holding.

"Uhm," I said.

"Nope, this isn't my dog. And this is Bella, a friend of mine," he said, losing his playful tint. That made me a little upset. Emmett seemed like a really funny guy, and he _was_, and any girl that took that out of him seemed like a horrible person to be around. I noticed Emmett's eyes always darting towards her feet.

"Oh. Listen, Emmett, I have tickets to a mock-Beetles concert. Only seventy people got the tickets, and I wanted to give you my other one," she offered to him. Emmett narrowed his eyes.

"Ehh... ye- no," he said, and his eyes once again fell down to her feet. I shifted my gaze down to her foot and saw that the toe by her pinkie toe was at least an in longer than the rest of her toes. I shuddered.

"Ok..." she said uncertainly. "I guess I'll see you later," she said and rode off.

Emmett kept a tight smile until she was out of site.

"Ung, did you _see_ that toe?" he asked painfully, squishing his hot dog and dropping it. I laughed loudly at him while he grinned. "She said she has some sort of disease, something about that toe having rapid growth. Who gets _that_?"

I laughed again at his joke.

"Well, I better bring this bad puppy back to my mom," he said, heaving a sigh. "Wait, hold up. Where's Rosalie?"

I nodded my head towards the door, while he dropped his jaw, but then quirked a smile. "Better let her be, eh? Let's let her dress up for me, but until then, tell the woman I said hi," he said.

"Will do," I said cheerfully. "Bye."

"See ya!" he said in a girlie voice, causing me to giggle. He grinned at me once more and turned around, striding towards wherever his mother was.

I rolled my eyes at Emmett's direction and tugged the door open, only to be ambushed by both Rosalie and Alice.

"Where were you?" Alice asked urgently, frowning at me.

Rosalie, on the other hand, was looking at Emmett's burly form. "Wait a second, is that _Emmett_?" she shrieked like a little girl.

"Yep," I said brightly, planning on annoying her. "Just talked to the big oaf. He told me to say hi to you, and to let you finish on trying on underwear for him," I stated matter-of-factly, trying to stifle my giggle.

Rosalie looked flustered. "Oh, really?" she said, but then regained her composure. Emmett really gave her a soft spot.

I nodded, but burst into laughter. "Yes, he said that, but he was just joking around with me."

Rosalie rolled her eyes at me and grabbed my hand, pulling me and Alice along with her.

"I'm hungry," Alice said abruptly. "There's a hot dog store over there. Look, see? '_Weiner's_'," she giggled madly. "Get it? Weiners?"

I told you she thought dirty things were hilarious.

We walked into the over-eagerly air conditioned hot dog place, only to be met with stares. What? Did I have something in my teeth? But then I realized it was the _guys_ staring at Rosalie and Alice. Of course. Rosalie was wearing her infamous tight jeans and shirt, while Alice was wearing her sweater dress. They got excited when the weather wasn't too cold, what with it raining 24/7. It has been unseasonably warm, actually, even though it was only 75 degrees. Anyway, I had my hair thrown in a sloppy pony tale with an old pair of jeans and a zip up sweater and old converse shoes. I shrugged it off, though.

While we were waiting in line, Alice and Rosalie completely ignored the stares, as they were used to it. Well, not _completely._ Rosalie got a little pissed at one point.

"What?" she snapped. "You see something you like?" There was a mutter of appreciation, which earned a glare from her. "Take a picture; it lasts longer."

Some guys even took _that_ seriously. One guy even took out his phone and tried to take a picture, but his irritated girlfriend scolded him and smacked him. One guy with orange dreads and multiple face piercings silently stood up and went to stand behind us. I was a little peeved, so I scooted in front of Alice and Rosalie.

Alice commented about the TV show, showed on the TV screen, something that was hung up for customers to watch. "Your penis will not shrivel up and die if you admit you want an umbrella instead of standing in the rain acting like a little water never killed anyone. It's an _umbrella_, not a purse, jackass," she said annoyingly. The guy was standing in the rain, declining the umbrella offered to him but some girl. I giggled.

"Hey, asshole. I can see you. If you think you can get away with trying to touch my ass, then you must have lost your mind," I heard Rosalie snap to the guy with dreads who's annoying grin was wiped off immediately by the venom in Rosalie's voice.

Actually, there were times when I was really glad that I wasn't beautiful like them. It must be annoying to fight off the guys like that. And I wasn't aggressive like Rosalie or as witty and fast as Alice, so I wouldn't last. With my luck, I would most likely get raped.

Yes, I am crazy. And I was even more crazy than usual, since my period was actually a few weeks late last month. It affected my emotions. That scared me a tiny bit. That must have meant that I had some kind of problem. I remember the feeling of never ending PMS. I hated it, and ever since then I've sort of had these crazy mood swings. On the plus side, this has happened to me before, so I didn't worry about it. When I was in high school, my period was a month late. When I went to the doctor, he just told me that I had too much stress going on my life. When I relaxed (and after final exams were over), I finally got my period.

Menopausal women are known to go a little wacko, so if I haven't menstruated in almost two weeks, which I haven't at the time, that would have an _almost_ similar psychotic effect. The possibilities of that for me would be that I was pregnant. Prego. That would _not_ be possible unless a) I got knocked up my daydreaming about a very naked Edward Cullen, or b) I've been chosen for the Immaculate Conception Part Two: Electric Boog-a-loo.

I rolled my eyes at my thoughts and stepped out of line, not hungry.

"Wait," Alice was saying to the cashier. "Can I please get a sample of your mustard real quick?"

The cashier looked a little confused.

"Just tell me, is it regular yellow?" she asked, a little desperate.

He nodded, a fast jerky motion.

Alice sighed a relief and took the hot dog, but then shrieked a little. "Woah, this isn't mustard. This is greenish slimy stuff. Don't you have the _yellow_ mustard?" she asked shoving the hot dog away.

These were the times when Alice was a _really_ picky eater. Rosalie sighed and pulled Alice away from the counter, taking me and her outside.

"--don't know why they don't have _regular_ mustard!" Alice was ranting. "I thought that this only happened in New York or something! Seriously, this happened to me once before. But it's not like I'm going to eat fake mustard. Yuck! I mean, they need to get it fresh. The good kind. Do they seriously want me to get sick? Because I swear, if I ever get sick off of that stuff, I am _so_ suing. I mean, _hello_, there are times whe--"

"Wait," I said, cutting her off. "Is this more of your zen enlightenment hoo-ha?"

She growled at me, while Rosalie laughed out loud. "All I am saying is that one of these days, one of their customers are going to get sick!"

I sighed at her, shaking my head.

"Let's go home already," I said to them, but Alice shook her head.

"I'm still hungry!" she whined. "Let's go find somewhere to eat."

I stomped my foot but followed her anyways. Why, oh why did she have to be such a picky eater? Why couldn't she pick the nearest place and eat what they had?

While we were walking, though, we passed a bookstore. It was showing the new arrivals on display, so I talked them into looking at them through the window with me.

"Ooh," Alice squealed and giggled. "'_Porn For the New Mom,_'. I wonder what is in _that_."

Rosalie and I rolled out eyes at her and had to restrain her from running in the store and grabbing the book. I swear, sometimes that girl seemed sex crazed.

I didn't get why we didn't just take the car. We walked all around town, listening to Alice critisize every food place, making excuses about every one of them.

After plenty of walking, and the sun about to set, we finally settled at an ice cream place. It was in a secluded area; surrounded by the forest and empty roads. It was very quiet, yet the ice cream shop seemes very inviting. I willingly followed them inside the store.

The woman behind the counter was a middle aged person with a kind face, dirty blond hair and a splash of freckles across her nose. I smiled her at her.

"What can I do for you nice young ladies?" she asked cheerfully. Alice breamed up at her, liking her already.

"Can I get a double scoop vanilla ice cream?" she asked, looking at the ice cream choices.

Rosalie stepping closer and chose what she wanted. "Uh... one scoop strawberry ice cream, please," she piped in. I already had my choice so I didn't need to look at the menu.

"A double scoop chocolate ice cream," I said, smiling. I was looking forward to that.

The lady smiled at us and got out three cones and an ice cream scooper. She shoved aside the glass that was shielding the ice cream, and leaned in there and got a big scoop of the strawberry and put it in Rosalie's cone, filling it up. She politely handed it to her.

"Thank you," Rosalie said, taking a lick of her ice cream.

"You're welcome," the woman said and went back to work. When she gave Alice and I our ice cream's, I didn't realize how big it would be. But laughed anyways and took it, taking a big lick, planning on joining Alice and Rosalie's conversation.

"--totally buy that the next time we go there. I mean, if we ever take a vacation to the Bahamas or something, it would leave us prepared! I hear that it's vintage _and_ all the stars are wearing it," Alice was saying.

Rosalie frowned. "Yeah, but, why would we wear a totally cliche thing? I want to look different than those attention-hungry ass wipes," she said.

"Well," Alice said, "we can always go for the different style, like maybe--"

And that's when I tuned it out. I didn't understand if they were talking about a bikini or a cover up or just plain clothing. I didn't get it. I turned towards the big glass window, taking a big bite out of my chocolate ice cream, giving me brain freeze. I clamped my hand on my forehead, squeezing my eyes shut.

But when I opened them again, and a man with no shirt and just shorts and tennis shoes, was running towards here.

My jaw dropped, realizing it was Edward. Good thing I had good sight. Edward's expression made him look like he was concentrating on something, making him look really adorable. When he was closer, I got a better look at him.

The gleaming sun made him look like he just came out of heaven. His messy bronze hair was shining in the sunlight, and the sweat all over his chest made me want to lick it off, something I would rather do to him than to Scotty. Now I understood what was so appealing about sweat.

And his chest! Talk about making me swoon. His chest was nice and toned, as was his abs. It was the sort of thing that made me want to run my hands up and down it, sweat included. Except, maybe in this fantasy, _I _have just finished running so I would equally be really fit. I shook my head and continued to stare.

As he was running by, he seemed to have felt my gaze, so he turned his glorious face in my direction. He slowed down and seemed confused at first, but when he saw it was me, he smiled a breath taking smile. Really, it did take my breath away. My breath caught in my throat. See, it did that to you if you hadn't seen Edward for at least a day. Even then, it was still really beautiful.

I saw him laugh at something, so I quickly composed myself. My eyes were bugging out of my head, my jaw dropped, and my ice cream held up to my face. With him facing me, his back was to the sun, so he was shining. Just like Jesus would be in those movies, where he's like, shining. Anyway, he waved his hand to me, telling me to come out. I couldn't help but look around and see if he was talking to someone else. I pointed to myself and mouthed, _Me?_ He nodded, as if to say, _Who else?_ I giggled and almost flew to the door, shoving it out of my way.

I fast walked towards him, trying to act like I was busy looking at the ground, feeling his gaze on me the whole time. Finally, when I was a few feet from him, I stopped. I grinned slyly up at him. He beamed.

"So where are you coming from?" I asked him, trying not to get distracted by his sweaty body.

He nodded his head towards the opposite direction I walked from, while looking for the ice cream store. "About... seven miles back," he said, shrugging.

"Jesus!" I said. He chuckled. "You run that far?"

"Well... yeah," he said like I was dumb and chuckled again, folding his arms. His ams were built, not like Emmett's, but deffinetly there. The way he looked when he looked in the other direction, holding that pose, he didn't realize that he looked like he was posing for a teen magazine. He would make the issue get sold out, that's for sure. I watched sweat slide down his body. Usually that would be gross, but not in this situation. It was .. slick, yes. He looked like he just stepped out of one of those Gatorade comercials, except a _much_ better looking actor then the other ones. It just made me want to lick him all over, maybe--

"When you're done fawning over me, you can tell me...." he said, smiling at me. I blushed but pretended to scowl at him.

"I was _not_ fawning over you," I disagreed, hitting him my hardest in the chest, in a playful way, pretending to be mad. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, it hurt my hand. "Ouch," I said, hitting him again.

"What was that for?" he asked, feigning hurt, rubbing his chest. Uh oh, he had _better _not do that. That just riled me up. Oh god, I was turning sex crazed, just like Alice!

"For making it hurt when I hit you," I pouted, rubbing my hand.

"It's not my fault," he said, hiding a smile. "It also isn't my fault that your hand is so weak.

I gasped at him, pretending to be apalled by his behavior. I, stupidly, raised my hand as if to hit him again, fighting a smile, but Edward caught my hand. I yanked at it, a reflex. That only amused him. He moved closer, bringing his head down to mine. My heart started to beat really fast, as if it was trying to make an escape attempt, and I felt the heat creep up my neck.

"Yes," he said, his breath blowing across my face. "Your hand is weak."

I glared at him, yanked my hand away from his, and shoved him as hard as I could, turning away from him, pouting. Damn him and his hot and sweaty self!

I heard him laugh softly. "So, Bella, I wanted to ask you something," he said, changing the subject. This spiked my interest, so I whirled around to face him.

"Yes?" I asked, my heart beating fast.

"Well," he said, playing with his fingers, "I know how clumsy you are and I know that you don't like to do anything physical--" but he paused and winked at me. I blushed. "--but maybe you could come see me at the gym tomorrow. I don't see enough of you." He stroked my cheek with his thumb without thinking about it.

I narrowed my eyes at him, but felt a little flattered that he wanted to see me a lot more often. "As much as you are right about me not wanting to run around or lift too heavy weights," I said, wincing at the thought, "I'll come and see you tomorrow."

He beamed at me, clearly liking my answer. "Then I'll call you tomorrow and give you the address," he said, still smiling. Even if I didn't want to go, if Edward gave me that smile, then I would for sure go. I shook my head at myself and smiled up at him.

I looked to my right and saw Alice and Rosalie staring at us, their faces alight with curiosity. I sighed and scowled at them. I turned back to Edward.

"First of all, my ice cream has officially melted," I stated, looking at the poor excuse of a dessert. "Secondly, Alice and Rosalie are literally going to be on my butt, so I better go."

Edward smiled at me and nodded. He leaned down and gave me a peck on the lips. That shocked me; it just seemed so natural. Like he wasn't having an anxiety attack. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

I blushed when he pulled away and said, "Call me."

"Bye," he said, gave me one last parting smile, and turned away to finish his run.

_Yes_, talk about a super _sa-woon._

* * *

Believe it or not, we did make it home, but at 7 o'clock. When we got home, I finished telling every detail to them about what went on with Edward and I. Naturally, they were squealing in delight. They had also agreed to go to the gym with me, in hopes of Jasper and Emmett being there. When they finished their squealing and happy rants, Rosalie's cell phone rang. Apearantly, Emmett wanted to go out with her. Jasper also called Alice for a date too. So now, I was feeling sort of lonley, though I new I shouldn't be. Really, I had Edward to think about, look forward to, and to fantasize about. Isn't that everything a girl could want?

But... there was something that was bothering me. I mean, before, sex seemed like a remote island. But now... it was possible. It wasn't like I expected Edward to get down and dirty with me the next time I saw him, though. I just didn't think that I should be doing that kind of stuff when I didn't know what I was doing. I even felt awkward just thinking about. How was I going to do something that I really knew nothing about? That was _if_ Edward and I... you know.

I took a deep breath and made up my decision. I made my upstairs and stopped in front of Rosalie's room, hesistating. Was I really going to embarrass myself like this? Yes, I was. I knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in," Rosalie's soft voice said. I opened the door and peeked in, then walked in, closing the door, sitting down on her bed.

"What's up?" she asked me, looking around in her closet for clothes to wear for her date. I chewed on my lip and grabbed one of her pillows, hugging it to much chest.

"I was just... wondering about... you know, sex," I said, ducking my face. To my surprise, Rosalie just laughed.

"Do you honestly think you and Edward are already going to have sex?" she asked me, pulling out one of her shirts.

"I don't mean the next time I see him!" I yelled, my face burning. "For future reference."

"Do you think you two are going to do do it? In the future?" she asked me, looking at me behind her shoulder.

I blushed even more, if that's possible. "I don't know," I said, biting my lip. "Maybe."

"Look at you!" Rosalie laughed, pulling off her shirt. I looked away, and at my hands.

"Well? What's it like?" I asked her.

"Well, at first it hurts," she started.

"A lot?"

"It depends."

"Were you nervous?"

"Not really," she said, biting her lip. "I wanted to. And it was the right time."

"Does it hurt the whole time?" I asked uncertainly.

"No. Just at first. Then it starts to get better, and you feel different feelings than pain," she giggled.

I laughed tightly. "But what if it's been four months and he gets impatient? What if I'm not ready?" I said, frowning. How was I even supposed to know if I was ready? Ugh, sex is so confusing.

"If you're not ready, don't do it," she said simply, pulling off her pants. Again, I looked away.

"What if I think I'm ready and we're almost doing it, and then I realize I'm not ready, then freak out when he's about to--" I was panicking by now.

"Chillax. You're thinking about this way too much. That's the problem with you genius types, you over analyze everything," she scoffed, fixing up her shirt.

"I don't think I'm over analyzing. I just--" I was saying, but she cut me off.

"Look, just stop worrying. Just go with the flow," she said, leaning into the mirror to put on some make up.

I took a deep breath. _Go with the flow._

"Remember that it only matters what you want. Don't let him force you into anything," she said, applying eye liner. Of course, I already knew that Edward would never force me into anything.

"Right," I said. "Ummm... what about... condoms? What if he wants me to put one on him?"

"Yeah?" she said, unfazed by the gross-ness of it.

"How do I do it?" I asked, cringing.

"Oh, it's easy," she said breezily. "First, you have to make sure you put it on the right way or else it won't unroll. Squeeze the top to let the air out so when --" I stopped her.

"I get it," I said in a disgusted voice. Sex was just so complicated. At least I had Rosalie. She cleared up a few things for me and eased the worry away. I got up off of her bed and walked over to her and gave her a hug, and walked over to the door.

"Thanks, Rosalie. You're a big help," I said genuinly. She smiled at me.

"You're welcome, sweetie," she said warmly and turned back to her mirror. I stepped out of her room and leaned against the door, closing my eyes.

I didn't know a relationship would be this confusing. And yet, I liked the feeling it gave me. As scary as it was, I liked it.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, this chapter is sort of long. I promise, I didn't mean to make it long!! I hope I didn't kill too many brain cells with my spelling mistakes. My laptop isn't working, and this computer I am currently using has no spell check. I don't really like this chapter. It isn't my favorite. Sorry again for OOC things... and thank you all for sticking with me. It's Christmas break for me now! I'm going to have a lot more time to write, so be expecting one around next week, maybe even Monday. Who knows. I'm just not promising anything. Now, review, and I'll be that happiest person in the world! =D**

**xoxo**

**Lucy **


	8. Watch The Passion

**A/N: Hello my lovlies! Yep –scuffs collar— I'm an awesome person, aren't I? (Jokes, that is). I'm really liking that you people are liking this story. That's really awesome, lol. Yeah.. shout out to LivForLove, my sweetie, and IheartTHEcullens for figuring out the movie reference. It was from Shallow Hal. A quick thanks to edward-n-bella-fr-eternity1207 because your reviews never fail to make me smile! =D Oh and Becca, you scared me once again. You never fail to freak me out. Sorry but, you are very disturbing. Your review for that last chapter was by far was the weirdest yet.. lol.. Everyone, just know that I try and reply to ALL reviews, and I think I did last chapter! Woo for me! Ok, THIS time I really have nothing to say, except that I'm glad that I am on my holiday break. It makes me so excited, that I went straight to work on this chap. Ok, first part of this chap is way random. ****Whatevs. lol. Oh yeah, uhmm it's still around Halloween time in this story. About a couple days away. And, I got another boyfriend. He's just so cute!! Anyways, after... kissing... my mind is refreshed with 'making out', so when Bella and Edward kiss, more details!! YAY! lol.  
**

**Oh yeah, side note: My lovely reviewer Jaspermytwin so very kindly pointed out something that made me think. "I might say this about a lot of things but it was awesome. I love the chapter. ****Bella should calm down with the sex thing they just started kissing, idk. She  
does freak out on a regular bases so oh well." Well, yes, I now realized that I'm making her freak out over nothing.... BUT. She is very intelligent and thinks BEFORE hand, so she'll be ready. I mean, what if she and Edward go at it right now? Would she have time to call Rosalie or Alice? Lol, hope that cleared things up. Thanks for pointing that out. You're awesome! =D**

**Oh, and Livvy, (LivForLove, y'all know. don't forget about her. lol) be extra observant in this chapter. It's a surprise!!! **

**Enjoy this chapter, my dears. =D Y'all are some super awesome people! (Sex musings ahead in the second part. Just remember how inexperienced Bella is. I just want to first explain her overreacting and what she thinks about sex.) CAUTION: LONG CHAPTER AHEAD!!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Steph does, although I want to make her characters do dirty things eventually. –Holds for laughter and applause-- You people are TOO kind. Ha.**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 8

I swear some people are Britney Spears obsessed. People spend too much time hating her that I can't help but suspect that they are all in love with her. They mock her and make fun of her all the time, yet they spend an hour sitting on their ass watching her latest document '_Britney Spears: For The Record_'. I'll admit, I did the same. But the difference between me and those people is that I don't spend all my time hating on her. I seriously couldn't give a crap about her. Her music is so lame that it's catchy.

I think people are afraid to like her just because of her song, '_Oops! I Did It Again_'.

I just setteled for MTV. I clapped my hands and squealed when I saw _The Real World_ was on. See, I sort of had this obsession with it. I would always watch it every time it was on. I used to hate it, but I loved watching people make total fools of their selves on TV.

My thoughts wondered off again. Jesus Christ! Talk about a replay! Wasn't I doing this a couple of weeks ago? What with the popcorn, blanket, and TV. Except, this time, I wasn't watching those incredibly scary movies, and I had all the lights on. It was raining lightly, barely even lightning. It had better not be. It would all just remind me of my lonely nights.

Rosalie got herself all primped up and hot-looking for Emmett while Alice did the same. They had their tightest dresses on, highest heals and all that jazz. Rose walked out with her sex hair, and Alice with her spikey hair. Talk about lowering someone's ego.

"Call us!" Alice had said before I shut the door in her face. Sometimes I was the overprotective parent, sometimes she was. What mattered was that we loved each other. And I found it amusing that she was worrying about me when I was just sitting at home. Shouldn't I be worried that Jasper would hit her in the eye, forgetting how short she was?

In the show, which I was watching an old re-run, where Amaya was boiling bunnies over Colin... Ruthie was an alkie in denial... and Justin.... he was trying to do his daughter's homework. '_Underline twice the prepositional phrase... what the bleep__?' _he had just said. I laughed out loud at that. It was so ironic. I mean, grammer words are so unlikeable -- 'conjunction', some eye disease you need goopy medicine for. 'Gerund'; an uptight British guy. _'__Gerund would like his tea now!'_ I giggled madly and continued to amuse myself with these thoughts, but stopped myself.

What a load of B.S. No, not B.S., but bullshit! Was I really that desperate and bored for amusement? I was seriously loosing my touch. But hey, who was I to complain? It _was _my own thoughts. And if I needed amusing, I could do whatever I wanted. Hell, I could get down and dirty with myself if I wanted to, maybe order a vibrator just to pepper it up.

Woah.

I grinned evil at myself. _Wow, Bella, I didn't know I had it in me to think that_, I thought sarcastically to myself.

Just then, my cell phone rang. I yelped in surprise, but ran up the stairs and burst through my room, digging through my stuff, looking for my phone. Damn it! Where was it? I finally found in my purse that was under my bed. I tore open my purse, quickly looking at the caller ID.

Caller ID is the best invention ever! Because seeing Edward's name and number in the tiny window gave me just enough time to take a long, deep, anti-hyperventilation breath before speaking.

"Hello?" I said in a high pitched voice, as though I'd taken a drag off a helium tank. I mentally berated myself.

"Say something more so I can remember what your voice sounds like over the phone," he said without so much as a _'Hey, how's it goin'?' _or even a sexy _'How's my pet doing today?'_ No? Nothing. Sigh. Sometimes I scared myself.

"Four score and seven years ago," I orated, "this country brought forth a new nation. Really important things started happening, and men who weren't even gay started wearing white wigs and frilly coats. They looked lovely, but more importantly--" **(don't kill me for that, Livvy-wivvy!!!)**

"Ok," Edward interrupted, chuckling, "I like your voice on the phone." Damn, and I was just getting warmed up, too.

"So, I was just watching _The Real World_..." he started. That startled me. I thought only lonely people watched that.

"You watch _The Real World_?" I asked excitedly. "I _love_ that show! Even with all the new reality shows, it's still the best. It's one of the few forms of entertainment targeted at our generation that I just eat up."

"Oh you _do_, do you?" he asked, playing a little. I giggled like a girlie girl. Again, I mentally scolded myself.

"I'd rather watch real kids make total asses out of themselves than watch Kevin Williamson's creations be so goddamn perfect and profound all the time," I said, getting heated up.

"I think that's sad," he said.

"Why? They're setting their selves up. They're asking for it," I pointed out.

"They're setting _you_ up," he said, sounding like he was fighting a smile. I narrowed my eyes.

"How?" I asked, curious.

"Did you ever stop to think that the term 'reality TV' is an oxymoron? Once these people agree to be filmed, it guarantees that these shows have nothing to do with reality," he said like it was obvious.

Edward was probably the only one that could 'up' my knowledge like that. I loved that he clearly had an off the chart IQ, but he didn't E=MC2 it in my face. But, when he sort of ruined my reality show fun, it made me grind my teeth. "I know all about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, genius boy," I said, getting testy. "What's wrong with entertainment as escapism?"

"Nothing," he said, sounding innocent. "Unless you have no problem spending an evening watching a bunch of people you don't know live life instead of going out there and living it yourself."

Huh. He had a point. My obsession with _The Real World_ was officially trashed.

And from there, we talked about, loosely, about pregnant chads, the Olsen twins, the AIDS epidemic in Africa, fake tattoos, _Igpay Atinlay_, the universe's unseen dimension, cloning, cliched guitar gods in tight leather pants, and plastic surgery junkies.

I couldn't remember the last time I had a conversation like this. And what made me happy was that I didn't have to supply most of the conversation; in fact, he talked just about as much as I did. Even better, his voice was so soothing, very serene and calming. Any nerves that I had went away.

At one point, Edward was asking for what book he should read.

"What book would a man have to be reading for you to approach him in a cafe and start a conversation?" he asked me conversationally. I giggled slightly, smiling.

"You mistake me for one of those girls who falls for that ploy," I said, biting my lip.

"Hypothetically? Say..." he said, trailing off.

"The only time that ever occurred to me was when I was reading Tim Winton's the Riders and another guy on the train I was on was reading it at the same time as me, though he was maybe 50 pages ahead. We were on the same train doing this for 3 mornings in a row, but when I'd finished it I never saw him again. I was dying to ask if he felt as outraged by the ending as I did," I said sarcastically, smiling again.

Edward chuckled. "Ok?" he said, making me feel crazy. "Hypothetically, if I was single, what should I read to get a young lady's attention?"

"Hypothetically... what sort of girl are you looking for?" I asked him.

"Beautiful, sarcastic, witty, funny... but that wouldn't matter for this girl. I'd just be happy for the attention," he said sexily, making me swoon. "Ok, I'll mention a book or a writer, you tell me who'll approach me."

"Ok," I agreed.

"Tim Winton?"

"Hard to say. Could be any number of reasons why women read Tim Winton."

"Bryce Courtenay?"

"Emotional chicks who cry at the drop of a hat. Ones that 'feel' everyone's pain. Have really close relationships with their mothers. Has everyone's birthday next to their name in her address book and spends a small fortune on birthday cards. Kind and sweet, but so saccharine you'd wish she'd be nasty just for kicks."

He chuckled at my smart ass-ness. "Dan Brown?"

"Conspiracy theory girls with a few roots loose in the back paddock. I would think ASIO is watching them. Maybe into kinky sex...."

"Jane Austen?"

I hesitated, deciding to be blunt. "Faghags. Thinks you're gay. Well, _I _wouldn't. I personally love a man who reads her books. But, we _are_ talking about a cliched girl, aren't we?" **(I'm just being real.. again, Liv, don't kill me.)**

He thought for a minuet. "We aren't talking about the cliched girl... but that certain girl," he said mysteriously. I bit my lip, sighing. "Moving on. Charles Dickens?"

"Educated. Attention to detail. Petty. Will live vicariously through your hard luck story running away from communist Poland because she thinks her own life is boring as bat shit. And it probably is."

"Hemingway?"

"Interesting person. Probably pretty hot. But she will probably think you're gay. A manly gay. She might be up for turning you, being so manly and all...." I laughed again.

"The Melbourne gangland stuff/Underbelly."

"V8 driving girl from Sunshine/St Albans. You probably went to school with her. She thinks you're a 'sick cunt'. Or a hot Aussie lawyer chick with a soft spot for bad boys a la Zara Garde-Wilson who probably just wants to talk to you because she knows you're Bartek's brother."

Edward laughed, then sighed. "I'd be hopeless. I wouldn't know what to read to draw her in."

I decided to be sarcastic again. "Well, it'd have to be something you wouldn't regularly read. I doubt any chick would think 'I just gotta ask that guy what he thinks of that great tome The Complete Book Of Fighters: An Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Aircraft Built & Flown'."

"You never know!" he said, laughing at me.

"But, Edward, I think that this girl you are talking wouldn't care what book you read. I think she likes you already. Like you said before, she'd be glad for the attention," I said, trying to copy his sexy words. "So, you want to hook up with someone as irritating as you so obviously find yourself?" I asked him, giggling.

"Nah, I'd pass. That person would be another guy, and all we'd do is argue about who knows the most and therefore who has the bigger penis...." he said, and I could here a smile in his voice. I laughed out loud at this. Edward could be so funny.

I totally couldn't wait to see him tomorrow.

* * *

Waking up was always a hard process for me to do. I mean, I hated when people interrupted me from my sleep. Sometimes it was because I was having a good dream, or maybe because I didn't want start the day. Oddly enough, I actually couldn't wait to get it. My eyes snapped open at 5 o'clock in the morning. I sat up and grinned cheekily.

"Good morning, world!" I said out loud, rejoicing for some reason that was unknown to me. I threw the covers off and jumped out of bed, padding inside of my closet. I quickly grabbed a new set of clothes and undergarments, walking into my bathroom. I closed the door and locked it, starting up the shower. I quickly grabbed my toothbrush and did a quick but thorough job and then stripped out my clothes. I jumped into the shower and started singing.

_'I'm telling you loosen up my buttons baby (Uh huh)  
But you keep fronting (Uh)  
Saying what you going do to me (Uh huh)  
But I ain't seen nothing (Uh)'_

I stopped myself and frowned. Since when did I sing in the shower, let alone sing a perveted song sung by singing strippers by the name of Pussy Cat Dolls? Very odd of me. I decided to switch to something more reasonable, even though my singing wasn't a usual thing.

_'You are my sunshine,  
__My only sunshine.  
__You make me haapppyyy  
When skys are graaay'_

I giggled and turned off the shower when I was finished, wrapping my towel around me before stepping out of the tub. I quickly dried myself up and changed into my fresh clothes, then brushing through my hair. I would blow dry it later. I went into my room and put on my slippers, checking the time on my alarm clock. It was now 6 o'clock. I thought that I spent a little more time in the bathroom than usual, even shaving my legs, and I couldn't believe that it was _still_ only 6 o'clock.

I walked down quietly down the stairs, so as not to disturb Rosalie and Alice while they were sleeping. I still hadn't heard about their dates as I fell asleep before they came home. Edward's serene and velvety voice rocked me to sleep, just like a lullaby. I just remember yawning, and him telling me that he was going to let me sleep, and that he was going to call again tomorrow to give me the address to the gym.

And how excited I was for that! Sure, I wasn't all keyed up to work out, no. To see Edward, I mean, there really was no lying to myself. Everyone that saw me with Edward could see that I was infatuated with him, so what was the point in lying to myself? I couldn't even lie to the others.

I remembered last night when I freaked out over the sex situation. Now that I looked back on that, that was really stupid of me. I mean, Edward and I were just barely starting to kiss. I don't think that I was all that comfortable getting naked with him and having him... y'know... insert himself inside of me. I shuddered and blushed, just by the thought. See? That wasn't good. 1) I was too self-conscious and my ego was so low that I didn't know if I would ever get to that point. 2) What if he didn't like my body? Sure, such a shallow thought, but seriously. I was still embarrassed to have Alice and Rosalie see me in the lingerie they throw at me, and they were my best friends.

Again, I realized that I was over reacting. I was thinking too much, if that were possible. And it was really starting to hurt my head. All of that stress and panic dancing around in my head.

But, I had a point. The... sausage, if you will, I heard it looked like a pig wrapped in a blanket. I seriously didn't want to think about Edward like that, but... really! My... cupcake was my utmost private part, I covered that more than my boobs. And, when Rosalie and Alice and I were in college, we were hyper and googled 'largest penis known to man', (I know, gross. Now that I looked back on it, I felt like gagging) and it was just so... gross. All veiny and thick.... I shuddered again. How do things like _that_ fit into such a small... cupcake?

Like Rosalie said, it would hurt at first. I've watched movies, hearing the men yelling '_Ooh, baby, you're so tight! You feel so good!' _so wouldn't that mean, that when they are 'tight', the guys are stretching it out? Wouldn't there be some ripping involved? I grimaced at the thought.

Once I finished my quick sex musings, I made it into the kitchen. But, sitting at the table was Alice, hunched over her work. Her back was facing me, sitting in her pajamas and fuzzy slippers with a cup of coffee right next to her.

Huh. At least she heated up the coffee for me.

I crept up behind her and stood there, trying to read over her notes. I knew that there was something fishy going on between her and Rosalie, keeping secrets from me like that. Who knows, it could be her adding up our taxes.

Only one way to find out.

As I was leaning over, I glimpsed the word _'__Nothing better than--'_ but apparently I was breathing too hard, so Alice felt my breath on her neck. She quickly looked behind and saw me leaning over, and she let out a small yelp of surprise.

"Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed, and she actually put one arm over her notes, just like those kids who don't want you to cheat off of them. I stared at her blankly, but when she did that, it triggered my laugh box. I started out giggling, but the more frustrated she got, the harder I laughed. It was one of those laughs that knocked the breath out of you, leaving you breathless.

"I... k-knew you and R-rose... were... h-hiding somet-thing from me!" I said in between laughs, pointing at her and jumping up and down. Alice opened her mouth to say something, but I laughed out again, interrupting her. She just gathered up her notes and folded her arm, tapping her foot.

Once I composed myself, I narrowed my eyes at her. "I suppose you have a math test that you don't want me to cheat off of?" I asked her suspiciously, a hint of a smile in my voice when I remembered how she covered her notes.

"It's none of your business," she said curtly. I snorted.

"Tut tut, Alice. Now, what do you have to hide from me?" I asked her, wagging my finger at her.

Alice shook her head a fast jerky motion. "You're totally going to ruin it! It's nothing big, I swear!" she yelled, flailing her arms.

Now I was curious.

Rosalie walked into the kitchen, looking like a super model, of course. "What's all the yelling about?" she asked in a bored tone, getting a mug from the cupboard.

"Alice was just about to tell me what you and her have been hiding from me," I answered Rosalie, throwing a dirty look at Alice's innocent face. She grinned tauntingly in reply, as if Rosalie was going to take care of it all.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Just tell the damn girl about it already," she snapped, sitting at the island. "She has a right to know, anyway."

Alice scowled and stamped her tiny foot. "Jeez, what did you have for breakfast? An extra bowl of bitch-flakes?" Alice muttered to Rose like a two year old. Rose rolled her eyes at her, taking a sip of her coffee. I walked over to get a mug and poured some coffee into it.

"Well, Bella," Alice started. "Ben called and told us that he was planning on proposing to Angela."

I spit out the coffee I had in my mouth. "What the hell?! Why didn't you tell me before? She's my friend, too!" I yelled, outraged.

"Yes, yes, Bella," Alice said impatiently. "He wants us to throw a surprise party for her, so he can take her to it after he proposes to her. He wants it to be the best day of her life, aside from their wedding day."

I gave her an icy look. "This is what you didn't tell me? Oh, how did you figure out that I am going straight to Angela's house to tell her all about as soon as I figure out about it?" I said sarcastically.

"You better not," Rose warned. I gave her a hard look.

"Not because of that, Bella. We were going to surprise you, too," Alice said, checking her nails casually. I cocked my head to the side, not totally understanding.

"You are so uptight, Bella! You need some fun in your life. I mean, Edward has been providing some fun for you, I'm sure," Rosalie said and winked. "We just wanted to give you a nerve shock and get you to let loose. We want you to have some fun."

Oh.

I just stared dumbly at the both of them. So they wanted to let me have some fun. I felt my face soften, but then pretended to frown at them.

"Well," I said in a jerky tone, "I'm glad you told me now, because you know I hate surprises." But I couldn't hold back the grin that was curling my lips up. We all jumped into each other's embrace. We said a couple of aw's and I-love-you's, but then broke away.

"So how were your dates?" I asked them, bracing myself from their eager stories. I listened happily while they told me about how they were perfect gentlemen, how they said the sweetest things ever, how they made them laugh, and how they kissed already.

Huh.

It took Edward and I two dates to kiss. I shook my head and hugged them both, happy that they were happy.

"He told me that even though I was really short, it really meant that I was perfect for--" Alice was saying excitedly, but my phone beeped, alerting me that I had a new text message. I grinned automatically and grabbed my phone.

_'Sorry for bothering you this early in the morning._

_You about ready to go? - E'  
_

I squealed and immediately texted back.

_'Good__ morning. Actually, I've been up since 5 in the morning. For some reason, I just couldn't go back to sleep. _

_I'm very ready to go. Woo. Working out. Sounds exciting. - B' _

I thought it would make him laugh, so I sent it.

"Wow, Bella, you have such a cheeky grin on your face," Rosalie said. Alice looked pointedly at my cell phone.

"Edward and Bella just this energy going on between them, I can see it vibrating off of Bella," Alice said, grinning at me.

"Yeah," Rosalie said. "Sexual energy." Both she and Alice burst into giggles. My phone beeped again, but Alice lunged for it before I could pick it up.

She read over it and giggled. "Ooh," she giggled. Rosalie leaned her head in and read it, laughing.

"Alice, how about we test him? Let's see if he expects the unexpected," she said, looking at Alice.

"Agreed," Alice said and speed texted something to Edward, giggling the whole time. I let out a frustrated sound and jumped on top of the island, snatching the phone from her just as she pressed send.

"Too late, Bella," Rosalie said, grinning at Alice. I groaned.

"Damn it! He's going to think I'm a freak because of your sins!" I yelled, which only made them laugh more. I glared at them, and all I could do was wait helplessly while he texted back.

"Remember, Bells, that in order to find Mr. Right, you have to test him," Alice said wisely while I walked out of the room, shaking my head. "Remember!"

The phone beeped and I flipped it open. I looked at the text that Edward had written before.

_'Don't worry. I'll help you out with anything that is too big for you._

_I'll be your big and strong knight in shining armer. - E'_

Then I looked at what Alice wrote back.

_'Are you sure? I don't know if you have the strength to push, just to push it. Go deep, Edward. You're sure that you're sure? - B'_

Edward's reply?

_'Oh, I'm sure, Bella. My upper body strength will definitely give me the dominance over you. - E'_

I was seriously hyperventilating at this point. What was I supposed to say to _that?_ This was basically talking dirty. How the hell was I supposed to do that? But then I remembered Alice's words. _'In order to find Mr. Right, you have to test him!' _I couldn't just stop right here. I took a deep breath and wrote my best reply I could come up with.

_'Well, that's alright. I won't stop you. I want to see you get sweaty. Don't worry, though, because I lick like Lassie. - B'_

It wasn't wonderful, but I couldn't think of anything else. I wasn't even sure if it went along with the whole thing, but I sent it anyways. I held my breath, but not for long, since Edward sent it back rather quickly.

_'I think I like Lassie a lot more than I used to. Especially if you'll be Lassie for me. - E'_

I blushed but rolled my eyes. I checked the time and saw that we should be leaving soon.

_'We can get back to this later. Tell me the address, please? - B'_

I waited for Edward's response, then ran into the kitchen to tell the girls to get their gym clothes on.

"Will Emmett be there?" Rosalie asked abruptly, while Alice asked, "Will Jasper be there?"

I rolled my eyes at the both of them and nodded. They both squealed and ran upstairs to get their 'hot and sexy' work out clothes on. I mean, I thought about buying something like that the last time we went to the mall but, a) I didn't know I would be meeting Edward at the gym at the time, and b) It would be plain stupid to get that. Or, it would look plain stupid on me.

I ran upstairs and looked through my closet. The only thing closest to good was a pair of gym shorts and a white t shirt. I pulled on a jog bra before I put on the clothes. I went into the bathroom to quickly rinse my mouth so it wouldn't smell like coffee.

A dumb voice in my head said that it was stupid that I had taken a shower, changed my clothes, and did it again, not 2 hours later. I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror.

Oh, Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Oh well.

I quickly put on my tennis shoes and threw my hair into a pony tail, waiting for Alice and Rosalie to hurry getting ready.

When they came out, Rosalie was in her spandex-like shorts and a nike jog bra, but a loose sweater over it so she could cover up until we got there, while Alice was wearing _short_ gym shorts and a tight tank top. All of that for working out? You were supposed to be wearing baggy clothes, not tight shirts and shorts. I rolled my eyes at them.

"Let's go!" Alice said, overexcited, of course. But Rosalie looked over at me and shook her head.

"Girl, we all know that you aren't going to work out. And you're wearing _that_?" Rose asked, giving me a once over. I felt intimidated.

"Let's spice it up," Alice said, and Rosalie nodded. They walked over to me and tightened my t shirt and tied it so it wasn't so loose, and they rolled up my shorts so they would be shorter. I huffed and pushed them away.

"If you go any shorter, they won't be considered as shorts anymore," I snapped at them and tugged on my shorts, scowling. They both grinned at me and strutted in front of me.

"We're taking my car," Rose said, grabbing her keys and opened the door. I ground my teeth and followed them. I felt like a speck of dust compared to the both of them, seeing their great figures. They even had the confidence to show it off. They had both told me that I had a hot body, but I didn't totally believe them. I had poor excuses of breasts and my flat stomach didn't do anything to help. Rosalie could probably fill a C cup, Alice a little smaller since she was smaller than us.

I was the only a 36B. I looked down at my chest and scowled at my boobs. Damn them.

While we were driving there, we turned on the radio and sang along to the song Touch My Body, laughing and doing the craziest movies we could muster while sitting down. People were looking at us like we were monkeys trying to juggle 7 bowling pins while solving the worlds hardest math problems. Rosalie just stuck her tongue out at them, while Alice did even more weird things, just to put on a show. When Mariah was singing the part _Know you like my curves_, Alice ran her hand down her sides, putting on a mock seductive look.

"Jesus, Alice, your moves must suck," Rosalie commented. Alice scoffed.

"Bella and I over here are _rockin'_, while you look like a constipated cow," she retorted. I rolled my eyes, because neither of them looked like that. Even doing the weirdest moves, they still managed to look graceful. _I_ was probably looking like a cat having a heart attack.

"Puh-lease," Rosalie said, "we all know that you are trying. You don't succeed."

I could tell she was just teasing.

Alice just stuck her nose in the air, seeming confident. "Ever heard of the saying '_Sticks and stones may brake my bones, but...._' wait, what was the rest?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Rosalie and I exchanged a look and snorted into laughter. I swear, sometimes Alice was the blond out of all of us.

We finally made it to the gym about 5 minuets later. My heart was skipping, just jumping around, nervous and excited at the same time.

I mean, I would get to watch _Edward_ get sweaty and do pull ups... lift weights.... I was getting all hot already. Rosalie and Alice both just looked excited, because they were really sure about themselves. I mean, of course Emmett and Jasper would be satisfied with what they see.

When we walked into the gym, we immediately searched the room. Rosalie pulled off her sweater and stuffed it into her bag. I watched, jealous, as she showed off her body. All of the guys in the gym looked over at Alice and Rosalie, whistling and hooting. They ignored it and searched some more.

My breath caught when I saw Edward. He was, thankfully, wearing a nike muscle shirt. I say thankfully, because it would be easier to keep my hands off of him. Even then, he still looked delicious. Emmett was laying down, doing bench pressing, while Edward was holding it up for him, helping. He was laughing at something, making a dreamy smile come across his face. I sighed and watched. Jasper was just standing by, telling a joke, it seemed.

Once Rosalie and Alice were alert to their presence, they both perked up and smiled. I rolled my eyes at them.

"No, it's ok, you don't have to puff out your chest anymore," I said sarcastically. Then I looked at their backside and said, "Yeah, and you don't want to break your back, trying to make your butt look bigger," I commented, giggling. I hit Rose's butt, making her yelp in surprise. **(i don't mean to make Bella sound lesbian. I mean, I always do this with my friends, so no sexual things between them, k?) **

"Shut up, Bella," Rosalie giggled, smacking my arm away. Grinning, I turned back towards Edward to watch him some more, but he was looking at me, smiling a rather amused smile. I blushed, realizing that he saw that I hit Rosalie's butt. I hoped that he didn't think I was some sort of lesbian.

I smiled back at him timidly, still feeling the burn of my blush. I looked back the ground and started to walk forward towards him, biting my lip. Wouldn't he remember the text messages and feel as awkward as I felt?

Of course, Edward always blew things off, like it was natural. He continued to impress me and amaze me. He watched me walk over to him, forgetting all about holding up the weights Emmett was using. When I stopped in front of him, I had a stupid embarrassed smile on my face. I mentally slapped myself.

Edward smiled his crooked smile at me, making me go light headed. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a hug. This completely took me by surprise, but I went along with it and wrapped my arms around his neck. And even though he was sort of sweaty, he still managed to smell _amazing_. How in the world did he manage that?! I hoped that I didn't smell too bad.

He pulled away slightly and gave me a light kiss on the lips. It wasn't anything deep like it was when we first kissed. This sort of disappointed me, but hey, it was something. His lips were warm and soft, so smooth. If I licked my lips, I would be able to taste him. And he tasted as good as he smelled.

I pulled away and saw Emmett's face going a little red, but no worries, his burly arms came to the rescue. He puffed and lifted it up and set it on the stand. I had to say, there were a lot of the dumbbells on each side.

"Dude!" Emmett said. "Bros before hoes, remember?"

I scowled at him and shoved him back down into laying position. He chortled and said, "Sorry, Bells, didn't mean it like that!" and he pulled me into his sweaty bear hug. And even though I complained that I couldn't breath, he even smelt good too! What, did this run in the family?

Edward rolled his eyes at his brother. "Bella isn't a hoe," he said like it was obvious. I laughed at him.

Rosalie came to stand in front of Emmett, pretending to scowl. "Did you call Bella a hoe?" she asked him testily, but I could see the excitement in her eyes. Emmett cringed.

"Aw, come on Rosie, I wasn't being serious! I'm probably the nicest guy around this place!" he said, defending himself.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "What about last night? _'Don't feed the animal, people'_," Rose said, trying to make her voice go deep to copy Emmett's. She then giggled.

"Psh," Emmett said, sticking his nose in the air. "I LivForLove, so why would I do that?" **(=D love you liv!!)**

We all laughed and were joined by Alice and Jasper. Jasper's arm was thrown around Alice's shoulder. I smiled at him.

"Hi Jasper," I said shyly. He grinned back and waved.

"Hey there, Bella," he said, and then smiled at Rosalie. I looked at Emmett and saw that he was staring at Rosalie's boobs.

Edward noticed this too and scoffed. "Are you serious, Emmett?" he said, rolling his eyes. "Grow up."

Emmett grinned at him. "Growth is in the feared places, bro," he said, winking at him. Jasper spoke up.

"Did you get that from some Start Treck movie?" he asked him. "It sounds slightly ominous."

"I know, it does, doesn't it," Emmett said, putting his tongue in his cheek.

"Do you even know what that means?" Alice piped up, and we all laughed. Rosalie got tired of not being Emmett's center of attention, so she leaned in, whispering in his ear, running her hands along his chest. I cleared my throat and turned away, blushing, feeling awkward. I walked toward the peck deck machine, **(i hope you guys know what that is cuz i can't explain what it looks like)** and started to act like I was interested in it. Edward came up behind me and said, "What? Did you want to try it out?"

I turned to look at him, horrified. "No," I said, my eyes wide. That would be too embarrassing for me to do. I seriously didn't have any upper body strength. He laughed and put his hands on both sides of the machine that you were supposed to hold and pulled. My eyes widened, watching his muscles flex with each pull. I could only imagine what his chest would look like.

I wondered what it would feel like to run my hands up and down his chest, just like Rosalie seemed comfortable doing with Emmett. A small part of my mind wondered what it would taste like, to just lick up all the sweat that seemed to be beading up all over his body. I loved how he wasn't the extremely strong kind, but you could tell that he had muscles. They were just there. I quickly snapped out of it before drool started pouring out of my mouth. I didn't want to drool a river. I quickly straightened up and blushed, feeling flustered, especially since Edward was smirking at me.

All of a sudden, a girl in a slutty gym outfit stomped over to us, shoving me out of the way so she could stand in front of Edward. She flipped her hair and popped her gum, twirling her blond hair.

"I couldn't but help but see how good you like, look," she said.

Edward nodded curtly at her, otherwise ignoring her. I just watched helplessly, fuming.

"You look like a real man, and..." she said trailing her index finger down his chest and down to his stomach, "I would love to feel what real man can do to a real woman," she whispered seductively and grabbed Edward right in the groin. I gasped, and so did Edward. He stopped pulling on the peck deck and jumped away from her, but she just pursued him.

_Come on, Bella, you can't just let this girl get all up on your man_, I scolded myself. I looked back at Rosalie and saw that she was still whispering in Emmett's ear, and he was _obviously_ aroused. Alice was flirting with Jasper, touching him in the chest now and then. I made up and mind and stomped right in front of Edward and plastered my best sexy smile on my face, getting in the girls view.

"You're right," I purred to the girl, my eyes still on Edward. He looked confused. "He _really_ knows how to take care of a women. But I'm afraid you wouldn't be ready for it, would she Edward?"

I winked at him. A look of understanding came across his face as he nodded. "By the way, Bella, last night was amazing. How about you tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you. I mean, you _did_ tell me that I was amazing," he said, smirking. I rolled my eyes but played along.

"I hope you will give it to me again tonight...." I said, eying him and biting my bottom lip.

"Whatever you like," he said, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He started to kiss my neck, giving me butterfly kisses. It made my heart flutter.

I looked back at the girl, and she started to back away. "Like, ok. You guys like, better not go at it right now," she said, looking at us in a weird way. She added to Edward, "But when you decide to drop this girl, you totally need to call me." And with that, she grinned a rather nasty grin, winked at Edward, and strutted away.

"That was...." I said, at a loss for words.

"...weird," he finished.

I huffed and started to feel mad. "I mean, didn't she me standing there? And then she starts to grab around wherever she likes just because she has huge boobs and blond hair," I said, but stopped, looking at the floor, blushing. I did _not_ just let that out, did I?

To my surprise, Edward laughed. "Don't worry, I felt as weird as you did when she was over here," he said to me, his voice so smooth and velvety that I just had to look up and see what his eyes were like. The brilliant green melted me, making me feel all warm and fuzzy. I sighed and smiled.

"Doesn't this ever bother you?" I asked him, incredulous

He frowned and looked at my hands. "Actually, it does. For the most part, I try to ignore it, but when they start to touch me... I have to put my foot down," he said, looking uncomfortable.

I smiled sadly. "Well, even though it seems annoying, I would give anything to be beautiful like you," I said, feeling sort of awkward, but brushed it off.

"You _are_ beautiful," he said, smiling softly, brushing my cheek with the back of his hand, causing me to blush. I looked into his eyes and saw the kindness... and what's that? Lust? I was elated at the site, and felt this tug in my stomach, making a small shudder run through my body. I snapped back to attention and averted my eyes to the ground.

Would he think that I just had an orgasm? Shit.

Edward looked amused.

"Listen, I have to go to the bathroom," I said, changing the subject. He nodded.

"I'll be over here," he said and walked back over to the peck deck. I giggled. What a weird name.

I walked into the bathroom and found Alice and Rosalie there, talking antimatedly. "Hi, Bella!" Alice said excitedly. "I saw that girl all over Edward."

I nodded and quickly told her the story. "I just can't believe those girls would do that when they know I am standing right there," I finished, exasperated.

"Because," Rosalie said, "you have to claim your man. Don't let people try and get him when he is obviously yours. Learn to not always be so jealous, because Edward is extremely good looking, so of course girls are going to be all over him."

I thought about that and nodded. She had a point. I didn't always have to be such a pushover. I straightened up and said, "Come on girls," and walked out the door. Alice hopped off the counter and linked arms with me.

"Don't worry, Bella, I know he looking for something real," she said, smiling at me. "Those girls are just some bubble gum bimbos looking for a good time."

Rosalie walked over to my other side and linked her arm with mine, patting my hand. "And believe in Alice, for she sees all," she said, giggling. I laughed and looked over at Edward. He was with Emmett and Jasper, doing some pull ups. Jasper was now at the peck deck, Edward doing pull ups, and Emmett doing some squats at a machine.

Woah.

They all looked good, but Edward was the one who had my eye, of course.

"Oh my god," Rosalie breathed. Alice was speechless. My jaw was dropped. Seeing them work out, their sweaty bodies and straining muscles seriously turned me on. But I kept my eyes on Edward, looking at how powerful way he was pulling himself up and down... up and down.....

And unfamiliar feeling of wetness pooled in my panties. It made me feel awkward, so I squirmed around.

A group of girls huddled together were squealing and pointing at them.

"Wow, look at the hottie with the bronze hair... yummy... I wonder how he does in bed," one girl giggled. "That would be one fuckfest."

The other girls giggled like little school girls. "He sure is sexy. Probably the hottest out of all three of them, but _damn_, look at the one with the hot bod," said another girl, "I would so screw him."

They nodded in agreement. "Holy hell! Look at the blond! He looks like a frikin' movie star!" a girl squealed. "_Damn_."

I was now visibly fuming, as were Alice and Rosalie. Rosalie's fingers flexed like she was going to slap those girls silly. Alice was sending death glares towards them. I silently sent them a curse that their tongues would turn black and fall out of their mouths. Of course, not like that was going to happen. But things like this always pissed me off. Edward said it was annoying, but who knows? One of these days the girls could possibly send him off of the edge.

"Come on," I nudged them. "Remember you telling me not to get jealous? They are all good looking so of course all of the girls are going to be all over them. And especially when they are working out, all sweaty and--" I stopped myself, using Rosalie's words against her. I took a deep breath and tugged them along.

While we were passing the huddled group of girls, they turned to look at us. Rosalie sneered at them, intimidating them with her beauty and vicious glare. Alice's small frame was pretty scary, too. She was glaring daggers at them, gritting her teeth. They were also intimidating by her beauty. I settled for the black curse again and glared as effectively as I could, giving them a dirty look.

When we were back in front of the guys, I saw them looking at us with funny faces. Oh lord, don't tell me that they saw us get jealous. I blushed.

Rosalie and Alice marched up to Jasper and Emmett, not caring that they had seen them get jealous like that. Of course, they knew what they were doing, and I didn't. Wasn't it bad for a guy to see you get jealous? I smiled at Edward, and he grinned, still doing those damn pull ups, making me even more aroused.

"Dude, didn't you're mom go to Jamaica this month?" Emmett asked in between squats.

Jasper grunted. "Yeah, I think so," he said, grunting again.

Edward grinned. "You don't know where your parents went?" he asked, grunting also from the pull ups he was doing. All the girls and I could do was watch their sweaty bodies and listen to them talking.

"Hey, at least I have an idea where my parents are," he said, smirking. "Emmett doesn't know where yours are, period."

"Show some respect," Emmett grunted. "'R-E-S-P-E-C-T,'" he sang, chuckling. "'That is what you mean to me. Ooh, just a little bit.'" Emmett snapped his fingers. Jasper laughed out.

"Hey, he actually does a good Urethra Franklin," Jasper chuckled. Edward rolled his eyes at both of them.

"Your brain and jockstrap have many things in common," Edward said to Emmett. "You both love--"

"Edward," Jasper chuckled nervously. "Let's not forget that the girls are here."

Edward directed his eyes to me. "Oh, I wouldn't forget, even if I tried," he purred, jumping down and away from the bar. My eyes aimlessly wandered over is arms and chest, taking in his glistening muscles exposed by his tank top. I raised my eyebrows. I could never get enough of that.

He ran his hand down my arm ever so softly, making me shiver. He smiled. I closed my eyes and started to chewed on the right side of my bottom lip. O_h Jesus, please help me,_ I prayed. _I am about to jump on this man with so many witnesses!_

All of a sudden, I felt a sharp nip on the opposite side. I nearly jumped out of my shoes. My eyes flew open, and I saw Edward with a lazy grin on his perfect lips. HE BIT ME! EDWARD NIPPED MY LIP! I was petrified. Not because it hurt, but I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I blushed and looked at the others. Emmett was grinning at Edward, and so was Jasper. Rose's eyebrows were raised, and Alice was bouncing around in place, stifling her squeal. She gave me two thumbs up, grinning. I looked back at Edward.

What brought this on?

Emmett cleared his throat loudly. "Well," he said in his booming voice, "you ladies aren't going to try anything out?"

Rose smirked at him slyly. "Only if you'll help me," she purred and walked over to him. Emmett grinned at Jasper and Edward, taking her hand and letting her try out the squat machine, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Jazzy, you'll help me out, won't you?" Alice asked Jasper, giving him her big puppy dog eyes. He smiled softly.

"Of course," he said and took her small hand in his and lead her towards another machine.

I envyed them. They were already acting like regualr couples, knowing what they were doing. They were even comfortable calling each other a nick name. 'Rosie' or 'Jazzy' or 'Em' or 'Ali'. What was I supposed to do, call Edward Eddie? No thanks.

"What do you want to try out?" Edward asked me in his smooth demeanor.

I scrunched up my nose. "Nothing," I said, trying to get away with it. Edward tutted and grabbed my hand.

"Now, Bella, do I have to force you?" he said teasingly. I rolled my eyes.

"Ooh, I'm terrified," I said sarcastically. He smirked at me.

"Are you sure?" he asked me, still teasing.

I smiled at him angelically. "Yep," I said brightly. "But, since I'm obviously being a party pooper, lead the way, mister."

This time, _he_ smiled at me angelically. Damn. He did it much better than I did. "That's what I thought," he said in his charming voice.

I narrowed my eyes at him. How come he was so beautiful and I wasn't? "Why don't you help me with the pull ups?" I asked him sweetly. He smiled even wider, showing his perfect pearly whites, making him look more and more like an angel.

"Perfect," he said and waited for me to grab on to the bar. My smile faltered.

"Now, you can't expect me to do this by myself, do you?" I asked him testily.

He nodded once and wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me up. A laugh bubbled from my lips and I held on to the bar.

"Don't let go," I warned him, giggling for some reason. He laughed and held on more securly. Good.

I grunted and tried to pull myself up, but I just couldn't. I huffed and pulled harder, but only made it up to my nose. My hands slackened, and it was good that Edward was holding on to me, otherwise I would have fallen.

"Jesus, how do you do this junk?" I muttered to him. He chuckled softly.

I coughed and tightened my grip and pulled up. "Help a girl out, Edward," I gasped. He pushed me up a tad bit, but it was enough for me to feel more confident about myself, so I huffed and pulled with all of my strength so my head was above bar completely.

I squealed like a little girl. "Yay!" I said, even though I sounded stupid, knowing full well that Edward helped me with it. I just wanted to act like I did it all by myself.

Edward laughed. "Do you want me to let go?" he asked me, his hands hesitating around my waist.

"Umm...." I said, uncertain. "Sure." I was still a little uncertain, but hey, it was time to do edgy things. Edward freed his hands from my waist. However, while he was pulling his hands away, dropping them, they brushed against my behind. I gasped, taken by surprise. My hands slipped from the bar so I fell onto my butt. There was a long dramatic pause while he just stared at me for a moment.

I was still surprised. Did he do that on purpose? Plus, now my butt as hurting since I fell.

Edward burst into laughter, his appealing laugh filling my ears. Really, music to my ears. He continued to laugh, further pissing my off and frustrating me. Why wasn't he helping me up? I mean, it wasn't like I was expecting him to always be helping me, but this _was _sort of his fault.

I sat up and crossed my legs, folding my arms and pouting at him. Edward looked at me, still chuckling.

"You should have seen your face," he chuckled some more.

I pushed my lips out even further. "Some knight in shining armer you are," I muttered to him, turning away from him, still pouting.

Edward stopped laughing and bet down next to me. My breath hitched, but I still refused to look at him, as I was still mad.

"I love how you poke your mouth out when your mad," he whispered, his delicious breath saturating the right side of my face.

I blushed tomato red and pressed my lips together, keeping them from pouting. Edward grabbed my chin softly and pulled my face to look at his. His face was closer than I expected. I bit my lip again and looked down at the floor. I could feel his breath coming closer and closer, feeling it on my face. He tipped my head up more so I had no choice but to look into his eyes. The startling green in his eyes were soft, adoring. I melted. My lips parted in anticipation as I looked down his surprisingly full lips for a guy. Not the puffy ones, but perfect for kissing. I closed the distance between us as I pressed my lips to his.

My heart was doing a happy leap, prancing around in a meadow of flowers, tra la la, without my permission.

Actually, before kissing Edward, I wasn't sure if I knew how to kiss. Even now, I still didn't know. Sure, it came naturally, but it seemed as if Edward was guiding me... opening my lips with his; not in a forcing way, but softly, teaching me somehow. The only real way I knew was just pressing my lips to another's, none of the tongue action. Edward sure knew what he was doing it seemed, as he was a _really_ good kisser. Nothing too sloppy.

I wasn't sure if I was being sloppy, but like I said, I had Edward to guide me. He put one hand on the back of my neck and his other hand on my hip. I wrapped my arms around his neck. Now that he had my lips open, I felt a rush of his warm and delicious breath and felt something wet, realizing it was his tongue, caressing my bottom lip, sliding his tongue up and down, slowly, making long exaggerated movements. Again, guiding me. I opened my mouth a little wider since it was only slightly open, allowing him in.

Edward seemed perfectly comfortable with being in control, so as my tongue met his, I let his tongue dominate over mine. I let his tongue explore my mouth as mine darted out to do the same with his mouth. Of course I would want to that. This was _Edward Cullen._

I can't explain what Edward tasted like. It was something that was altogether all his own. He tasted sweet, yet powerful. It was something I knew I wouldn't be able to get enough of. I wondered briefly if all men tasted this way or if it was just Edward. I dismissed that train of thought quickly. I had other urgent matters to attend to.

Edward once again took control as his tongue met with mine again, twirling slightly and doing gentle yet powerful movements with my tongue that I wasn't familiar with. It was soothing, caring, nothing rough. If I tried to catch up, it would be a lost cause. I didn't really know exactly what I was doing. It was better when he was leading, anyways.

Thank God I was wearing deodorant. If I wasn't sweating before, I sure as hell was now.

Just as Edward and I were just getting deeper into the kiss, a sniffling voice interrupted us. "Aww, Rose, look how cute!" Alice's voice interrupted our kissing, irritating the crap out of me. I lost my rhythm as I pulled away, grudgingly, from Edward's face to glare at her.

"Alice, you ruined the moment!" Rose hissed at her. Oh, so we had an audience. I was startled, as I didn't notice that we had attracted attention.

The group of girls that Rose, Alice and I passed earlier were sighing in unison at Edward, probably wishing that he would kiss them like that. I smirked slightly at them. Some men were even staring. Alice hand a hand over her heart, leaning into Jasper. Jasper's lips were pulled up into half smile. Rosalie was smiling kindly at us, and Emmett was, of course, grinning like usual.

Did it really look that sweet?

It sure felt sweet.

Sigh.

I immediately felt empty, missing the taste of Edward, the way he felt, how he controlled over me and dominated me... teaching me, guiding me. I sighed again, dreamily this time. I looked over at Edward and saw that he had a serene smile on his face, looking even more like an angel than he ever had, if that's possible. He gave me another one of his adoring, lusty looks and stood up again, holding his hand out for me to take.

Offering me help.

I smiled again and took his hand, letting him pull me up. I once again felt that tug at the bottom of my stomach.

"Show's over, people!" I yelled jokingly. They chuckled and giggled, parting away once again. I looked at Edward and said, "Thanks for the help."

I wasn't sure how he was going to take that, as he helped me with many things. Pull ups, helping me off of the floor, kissing.....

Sigh.

Again.

I had to stop doing that. I mentally slapped myself and smiled at Edward sweetly. He smiled brightly at me. "It was _definitely _my pleasure," he said. "Listen, I was wondering...."

I cocked my head to the side.

"Yes?" I asked him.

He frowned. "Do you want to go to my place some time after tomorrow?" he asked me.

I raised my eyebrows. Did he want to...?

Edward saw that conclusion that I saw and quickly shook his head. "No! Not like that, just to show you around," he said, panicking. "You can show me around your place some time. I promise. Nothing like that."

I smiled warmly at him, noting how adorable he looked when he was panicked.

"Sure," I said shyly, nodding. He smiled winningly at me.

"Why not today or tomorrow?" I asked him curiously.

"Oh, Jasper, Emmett and I got invited to this party, and the hosts would really like to see us there," he explained. I felt this weird feeling, knowing that this would be some wild party, and wild slutty whores there, sure to be all over Edward. Oh, jeez.

"Oh... sounds fun," I said, trying to sound excited. His face broke into a big smile, not buying it at all. He kissed my forehead.

"Let me quickly talk to Emmett and Jasper," he said to me. I nodded, and he turned away from me and walked swiftly to his friends.

I sighed at his form, liking him even more than usual.

Alice and Rosalie literally popped out of no where, tugged at my arms.

"That was so sweet!" Alice squealed.

"Edward is such a gentleman," Rosalie said, approval dripping in her voice. "I think that he'll take good care of you."

She said this like she was passing me over to him. I rolled my eyes at her. "I mean, I didn't know that we caused that much attention," I said, feeling curious.

Alice and Rosalie exchanged looks. "It's a no thinker, Bella," Alice said. "You should have seen the passion."

Rosalie nodded seriously. "It was seriously hot," she said, and I noticed that approving tone again.

"I mean, the way Edward kisses, it's like he's teaching me how, you know?" I said to them. "You know how I have zero experience? He's just so soft and caring, gentle with me...."

Alice giggled. "It was totally sweet," she said again.

"Oh, and he wants to take me to his place on Wednesday," I added.

They raised their perfect eyebrows at me. "No, no, not like that," I said quickly. "Just to show me around."

They both grinned. "_Suuure _he is, Bella," they said in unison, giggling. I sighed and shook my head. They didn't know him like I did. Edward would never try and pull that card on me.

I turned away from them and walked towards Edward, interrupting him while he was talking. "Hey," I said breathlessly. "I'm gonna go hit the showers even though I didn't do much...." Any possible smells of sweat would have to go.

He nodded. "I'm gonna do the same," he said. I smiled at him, taking one last look at Emmett and Jasper. Jasper winked at me playfully. I teasingly twirled my hair around, giggling, walking towards the locker room.

Once I finished with my shower, changed clothes, dried hair, I walked outside, only to be met by the outrageously gorgeous Edward.

A small part of my brain wondered if he would be considered as my boyfriend.

He was leaning against the wall, looking like god himself, except a much better looking version. I noted his damp hair, seeing how it feel over his eyes in a very attractive way. I sighed dreamily, watching his stunning face break out into a smile when he caught site of me.

The red head on front of me thought that he was smiling at her, so she immediately perked up and poked out her chest, grinning broadly. I gritted my teeth and stomped my feet a little harder than necessary as I made my way towards Edward. He laughed at my expression, pulling me close. I just had to lean away and look at the girls expression.

She looked a little surprised, but then hurt. She glared at me, sneering. I threw a dirty look at her and drew closer to Edward, letting her know who had who. This threw her off a little, but she kept on walking.

"Stupid girls," I muttered in between my teeth. It was hard to be in public with Edward when all of the girls stared at him like he was Jesus during the Second Coming. Look up porn; it's a lot more useful.

He chuckled at me, grabbing my hand, pulling me outside. Rosalie was chatting with Emmett by his jeep while Alice was once again flirting with Jasper.

"I'll call you sometime today or tomorrow," Edward said to me, playing with my fingers. I looked him, noting how his impossibly long lashes cast shadows across his flawless cheekbones.

"No," I disagreed slowly. He looked up at me, confused and hurt. "You're always the one calling me. I want to call you." I grinned at him, letting him know that I really would call him. He smiled at me, relieved.

"Come on, Bella!" Alice yelled, while Rosalie revved the engine. I rolled my eyes at them and turned back to Edward.

"I'll call you," I said quickly, giving him a light kiss on the lips since we didn't have time to get into it. As much as I would love to, I didn't think Alice and Rose would be too happy with sitting in the car all day.

Edward grinned at me cheekily and waved good bye to me when I turned around to look at him.

I smiled. Right then, I seriously wanted to kiss him again. The whole thing, just like earlier. Hmm... if only there was some way to see him earlier than Wednesday?

* * *

**A/N: It's Christmas Eve, people! This is my present to you all! I love you all to pieces! Umm... I was a little iffy about this chapter, even if it was like a million pages long. I'm not sure if it's my best, so if you don't like it, I understand. I just type a lot; way too many ideas. I hastily updated this and typed the ending sort of fast, so sorry if it seems too fast-moving right there at the end. I just wanted to post this for Christmas! I wanted to add more sweet Jasper/Alice moments or even Emmett/Rosalie moments, but this chapter was getting way too long. Next chapter will probably be my favorite!! Last sentence is _sort_ of a clue. Kinda. Sorry for grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes. Now please review! Click that VERY obvious button and review!! Please? I live off of your reviews. Come on, it's the holidays! That would make me SUPER happy and I'll update even sooner. **

**Happy Holidays Everyone!! Have a great Christmas!**

**xoxo  
Lucy  
**


	9. Paranoid Lil' Ol' Me

**A/N: 101 reviews, people! Woo-hoo! A BIG HUGE thanks to Liv; she submitted the 100th review!! Aha, _Livie_-wivvy, not _Livvy_. Lol. Sorry for getting that wrong, hon. And thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed. You are all fabulous. In fact, you are all in my Fabulousness Crew. Awesome! :D Alright, who wants to get to the chapter and not listen to my annoying mouth? Ah, you all do? --pouts-- but only because I love you all so much! =D  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Ooh, wait, Steph emailed me and gave them to me. --snort-- As _if_****.**

Chapter 9

An old family friend by the last name of Brock called me and asked me to babysit their child. I, being the nice person I am, accepted it with no questions.

Let's just say I am not totally excited about it.

When I called Edward late at night before I slept, because I couldn't sleep, he totally surprised me and asked me if I wanted to go with him to the party he was invited to. He said that there really was no point in going if he wasn't going to have a good time. After all, it _was_ Halloween. It was a costume party; Alice and Rosalie were so excited. So just as I was rejoicing about getting to see Edward sooner, Mrs. Brock called me. This where everything went down the drain.

"I'm sorry for calling so late, but this is an emergency," she had said to me over the phone. Charlie and the Brocks family used to be great friends, and I would even visit them sometimes to babysit their daughter when she was just a baby. Of course I couldn't say no to them. I would be disappointed in, and I didn't want that to happen. As boring as it anticipated to be, that was life.

I called Edward back and apologized, canceling on him. He did seem sad about it, but was glad I would be safe at some home rather than at some drunken party with girls in slutty sailor costumes. Except, he didn't mention that last part. Even though I was totally worried that some girl would come on to him, and we all know that it was sure to happen, I had to grind my teeth and accept it.

In the morning before the party, Alice and Rosalie went costume shopping, going all out on it. They did seem sad and upset that I wouldn't be going, saying that they wished they could dress me up in a costume. I ground my teeth at that but still smiled at them.

They _did_ offer to come and visit me while babysitting, just to give me company, but I turned them down. Rose and Alice didn't seem thrilled with the idea of hanging out with a six year old whose main interests were the new Barbie town house she got for her birthday and the latest _Princess Diaries_ movie. Besides, they would rather be partying their hearts out with Jasper and Emmett. Sitting around watching TV while a six year old sleeps upstairs or go to a party? I couldn't blame them; I would have made the same choice.

I didn't want to ruin their fun just because I was too much of a wimp to turn down a babysitting offer. Plus, Mrs. Brock sounded desperate, and how could I let her down? She had done so much for me in the past.

I watched them gloomily from the kitchen, seeing them bounce around, yet still send me some sad looks. They kept on telling me to just call and cancel on the babysitting job. I just sighed and shook my head.

As seven loomed around, I went into my room and packed my backpack, putting extra clothes and a book just in case. I've babysat before; the kids aren't always too nice. One time I got thrown up on, and it isn't too pleasant walking around smelling like puke. Whether I was watching a twelve year old or a three year old, I always packed an extra set of clothes.

I hugged Alice and Rosalie goodbye, once again denying their final attempt to get me to come. I didn't even have a costume. I got into my truck and drove to the Brocks house.

Mrs. Brock was actually from Spain; a very beautiful women. She spoke English very well; only had a slight accent. Her husband wasn't really a... looker, but still, I forgave his non-attractive looks because of his personality. Probably one of the funniest guys I've known. He was from Wisconsin.

When I got there, Mr. and Mrs. Brock thanked me repeatedly and kept offering to give me a raise, but I turned them down. It seemed as though every body was offering me stuff, I thought wryly. Their little girl Sophia bounded down the stairs to say hello to me, talking excitedly about her Polly Pockets. I kept smiling and laughing, not totally listening to her.

When the Brocks left, they told me that all I had to do was get Sophia into bed, and the house was mine. I was free to take any food from the kitchen, and that I shouldn't be afraid to make myself at home, and that they'd be home around midnight. I grinned at them and thanked them once again and they walked out the front door.

When I closed the front door, I stood there, contemplating my next move, listening to the groaning furnace.

The Brock's house was down a long wooded pathway and its pretty secluded. You can't even see it from the street. The house was huge; basically a mansion, if you can ever find one in Forks. When you're in a huge empty house with a six year old whose sole means of self defense is the magic wand she waves around while reciting magic words, every noise sounds like something worse than it is. Tree branch scraping against the gutter? Must be someone trying to getting through the window. Furnace groaning in the basement? Must be someone just waiting for the right time to come upstairs and dismember a little girl and her babysitter.

All the noises used to freak me out, and more than once I'd ended up calling my dad, convinced that there was a deranged madman outside the family room, trying to jimmy open the sliding glass doors. After those calls, my dad would always drive over and reassure me that there wasn't some serial killer hiding in the basement, or an escaped mental patient squatting behind the shower curtain waiting to attack me while I was on the toilet teaching for some Charmin. I giggled quietly at my insane thoughts.

Even though one part of me knew that I was being paranoid, like always, that there was no way someone outside plotting on how to hide my body in a shallow grave in the woods, there was always the other part that had been influenced by way too many dateless Friday nights watching cheesy horror movies on TV. So I usually kept on as many lights as possible without making it too obvious that I was hoping a few hundred-watt bulbs would deter a homicidal killer.

I shook my head at myself, yearning to be with Edward. Just standing there made me realize how boring this was going to be. I had the choice to go out to a party and get drunk with Edward, but no, I just had to accept the offer.

Oh well.

After I tucked in Sophie and read her a story, I went back into the family room, flipping on the TV. But I wasn't about to kick back and watch _E! True Hollywood Story _on the Olsen twins. I'd have to find out another way to amuse myself.

I took out my book from my backpack, but my thoughts were still going. Maybe I should have brought an old diary or journal, just for a walk down memory lane. The only thing was, I never bought into that whole diary/journal thing, so I wouldn't exactly have something interesting to read. When I was seven, my mom bought me a diary for my birthday and I loved holding the little gold key in my hand and coming up with new hiding places for it. Of course, I'd been so good at hiding the key that eventually I forgot where it was. But by then it barely mattered. I'd completely lost interest. My entries were more on the lines of "today I had tuna on wheat for lunch" other than hidden yearnings. And even though I tried journaling years later, it seemed everyone was filling blank pages with poetry and sketches of unicorns, while my journal started off with "I think my jeans look good today" and went downhill from that.

I sighed wearily at myself and lay down on my back, opening up my book. I was re-reading Pride and Prejudice. I was at the part where Mrs. Bennett was talking to her husband about... and my mind once again wandered off in la-la land.

It had been almost five years since I last babysat for the Brocks, and I thought strange noises and strange rattlings in the basement wouldn't freak me out anymore. And I was right. To a point. I could rationally explain away any creak or squeak in the house, and when I noticed a set of headlights coming up the driveway, instead of freaking out that my killer had borrowed a car, I thought maybe the Brocks decided to some home early or something. I was even collecting my coat and about to stuff my book into my backpack when the doorbell rang. And that's when I knew something wasn't right. Nobody rings their own doorbell.

Instinctively, I reached for the phone and then stopped, just like those TV shows where they freeze the action right before cutting into a commercial. This was when I used to call my dad, but I was sure he wouldn't be too happy with driving for an hour just to comfort his 21 year old daughter. I sat there, trying to figure out what to do as the bell continued to ring like bad background music in a horror movie. Wasn't this the part when you usually see the babysitter get up and go into the kitchen for a butcher knife? That option didn't really seem like an option. In those movies the babysitter always ended up with the knife in her back and the telephone cord wrapped around her neck.

So instead of trying to come up with a weapon, I slid off the couch, crouched down, and tiptoed to the front door, careful not to pass by the front window just in case it really was a serial killer, albeit one polite enough to ring the doorbell.

When I reached the front door, I slowly stood up, easing my eye toward the small circular peephole, the entire time hoping the Brocks just forgot their keys.

But when I got there, it wasn't Mrs. Brock. Instead, a single vibrant green eye was staring back at me, and before I could stop myself, I let out a noise that sounded more like a strangled poodle yelp then a scary movie scream.

"It's me," the eye called, the voice perfectly smooth and calm.

My heart skipped a beat.

This time, when I looked through the peephole, the eye had moved back and I could see the head it was attached to.

I unlatched the deadbolt and threw the door open -- almost grateful for the familiar face, but also slightly pissed off for the scare.

And I was also nervous and excited, because it was none other than Edward Cullen.

My eyes traced over his pale white features: the hard square of his jaw, the softer curve of his full lips -- twisted up into a smile now, the smooth marble span of his forehead -- partially obscured by a tangle of rain darkened bronze hair, since it was raining so hard outside. **(That's an Eclipse description -- i was reading the book again and I thought, 'I must use this!' because Steph's descriptions of Edward are better than mine =D) **

I looked into his vibrant Jade green eyes; they were twinkling. I was always losing my train of thought every time I looked into those eyes... like I was now.

"Hi," I breathed. He smiled that damn, lopsided grin that oh-so-got to me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked nervously, smoothing some loose hairs back into my ponytail. As if that was the worst of my problems. Who'd notice a few stray hairs when I wasn't exactly dressed to thrill in sweat pants and a ratty long sleeved Martha's Vineyard t-shirt? And instead of smelling like some fabulous perfume, the only thing I reeked of was ChapStick. I wasn't even wearing my usual swipe of mascara, something I used in attempt to make me feel prettier than I was.

"I was just in the neighborhood," Edward said, coming in without being asked. "Alice told me where you were."

Damn! Alice. It wasn't as if I didn't want Edward here, it was because I looked dreadful. And his own beauty made it hurt even more.

I watched as he took off his coat and hung it up.

_Bella! Don't just stand there and look stupid! You got your wish; Edward's here. Don't make him regret it._

I quickly composed myself and asked him, "Do you want to sit down?"

He nodded and smiled, walking towards the couch. I followed behind him, smoothing down my shirt, taking calming breaths.

The TV was still on _E! True Hollywood Story_ so I quickly snatched the remote control and gave it to Edward, feeling a little jumpy.

"I thought you would be at the party?" I asked him, moving my stuff off of the couch, trying to keep my mind from going into overdrive. Seeing Edward's beautiful face set off _many_ sexual fantasies. And I mean _a lot_, a lot. I took in his casual attire; jeans and a shirt under a sweater. Wasn't the party a _costume _party?

He layed his head back on the couch, like he's been here a million times. "Like I said: I don't want to go if I'm not going to have any fun," he drawled lazily, smiling at me.

I blushed despite myself, but kept my ground. "There are a million ways you could have fun without me," I stated, disbelieving of his excuse that the party would be fun without --ahem-- me.

He picked his head up, keeping a steady gaze on me. "Oh, there sure is, but there is no use in doing any fun if you aren't there," he said, his voice like honey. Dammit! I had to get out of the room.

"Ummmmmmm...." I said, trying to control my hazy brain. "Do you want something to drink? I think they've got some Sprite in the fridge." He nodded his head.

I turned to the kitchen and became acutely aware of Edward's eyes following me. Not that my butt was that bad, but gray sweatpants didn't exactly present my assets in the most flattering light. I turned around and faced the TV, pretending to be captivated by the shirtless, handcuffed guy in a trailer park as I walked the rest of the way backward into the kitchen.

Not only did Edward ditch the party to see me (score), but from the way he looked, which was extra delicious tonight, if that's possible, I could tell that he didn't leave without a look in the mirror (score two).

Now that I was finally away from Edward and his dizzying beauty, I could let my thoughts take over me.

I have imagined a lot of things, involving this kind of plot.

In the PG-13 version, I'm wearing something casually sexy, like the ME, YES, ME T-shirt that Alice gave to me as a joke last Christmas and a pair of shorts. In this daydream, I am not wearing this sloppy ponytail, but have sex hair. I'm lounging on the couch, reading the book that I brought along, secretly thinking about how much I miss Edward, when he sneaks up behind me. He grabs my book and chucks it across the room. We kiss.

In the R-rated version, the setup is the same, except I'm wearing a tank top and a pair of bikini-cut skivvies. He says something like "I need you right now," which doesn't sound at all sexy, but it's all in the velvety, melting honey-like drawl of his delivery. My book, chucked. My clothing, shucked. My body, (insert verb here).

In the X-rated version, there is no wardrobe or intelligible dialog. The plot is best left to your (ok, _my_) prurient imagination.

As you can see, I like my daydreams to have an element of reality to them. (I even do my own nude scenes.) It makes them that much more interesting, like, _Ooooh, this could actually happen._ Sigh. Too bad that only my G-rated fantasy came true.

The cabinet where the Brocks kept their glasses was empty, and I was about to open the dishwasher to look for a clean glass when I noticed Sophie's macaroni and cheese encrusted My Little Pony cup in the sink. There were probably eight adult sized glasses in the dishwasher without cartoon characters but I didn't go looking for them. Instead, I washed the remaining chocolate milk out of the plastic cup and filled it with Sprite. Watching Edward drink out of a pink plastic cup completed with a Krazy straw in the shape of a horse's head was too good of an offer to pass up. Cool Edward Cullen drinking out of a child's cup. I grinned to myself as I brought the cup over to the family room.

When I came in, I was surprised to see Sophie out of bed, standing at the bottom staircase, staring at Edward, while talking to him.

I froze, listening.

"You know, Bella isn't supposed to have people coming over, I don't think," she said, giggling.

I saw Edward raise his eyebrows. "She isn't?" he asked.

"I don't know, I just lied," she giggled. "But you are a pretty boy." She was walking closer to Edward now, holding her bear in her arm.

Edward chuckled softly. "Thank you," he said, smiling widely. "You're a very beautiful girl, too."

Actually, Sophie really was a cute little girl. She had stunning hazel eyes and long, wavy chocolate brown hair, and when she smiled, you could see her cute little dimples.

Her eyes brightened. "Really?" she asked him, beaming at him.

He nodded, while I darted into the room. "Sophie," I said nervously, "why aren't you in bed?"

She ignored my question, and pointed at Edward. "That boy looks like one of those guys on the cover of mommys magazines," she stated, managing a dreamy smile on her face. Ok, so little girls were now lusting after him? Christ!

"He sure does, doesn't he?" I murmured, and couldn't stop the dreamy smile that spread across my lips.

Edward's eyes met mine, his own face breaking out into a breathtaking smile.

Sophie giggled. "Cómo bonita," she said in spanish, watching us.

This distracted Edward, and he turned to Sophie. "You speak spanish?" he questioned.

"Yeah, her mom is from Spain," I answered for him. He smiled.

"La tierra de la belleza," he murmured. I gaped at him. He spoke spanish? Plus, he sounded so good speaking another language. So damn sexy. If I hear the roll of his tongue when he says the spanish 'r' again, I am going to go loco, I told myself.

Sophie perked up. "It is a pretty place, isn't it? My mommy took me and my daddy there last year," she bragged.

DAMN MY JOB.

I loved Sophie, but I kind of wanted her to go away for some... alone time with Edward. Not to get all freaky-deaky with him, but I didn't feel comfortable thinking words such as 'sexy' with a child in the room.

Actually, it was good in a way; she kept me from jumping him.

Sophie stretched her arms above her head and yawned loudly. I walked over to her, set down the cup on the coffee table, and picked her up. She layed her head on my shoulder, eyes drifting close.

"I'm going to take her upstairs," I whispered to Edward. He nodded, but stood up and grabbed the bear that Sophie dropped, intending on following me. I climbed that stairs, fully aware of Edward following right behind. When I got into her room, she was already snoring softly. She looked so peaceful. Edward gave to bear to me as I tucked it in with her.

"Crap," I whispered, for I remembered I forgot to take off her slippers. I know that it's ok to sleep in them, but the last time she slept in them, she woke up crying because her feet were sweaty. It was something to roll your eyes at, thinking how in the hell would it matter if your feet got sweaty, all you have to do is take off the slippers, but if you looked at her face when she was crying, it would brake your heart. She really had us (her parents and me, or anyone else who saw her, for that matter) wrapped around her little finger.

"Take off her slippers," I whispered to Edward. His eyes were questioning, but did it anyways. I grabbed her empty glass of water and went into the bathroom, filling it up.

While I filled it up, I realized how thirsty I was. I chugged down the full glass of water. I was pouring it in my mouth too fast that some of it dribbled onto the front of my shirt. I cursed in my head, and set the glass down at the edge of the counter. I, being the clumsy person I am, knocked the glass down on the floor as I was reaching towards my shirt to wipe off the water. It clanged against the tiled floor, while I cringed, hoping that it didn't brake, and hoping that it wasn't too loud to wake up Sophie.

The cup rolled away. The bathroom was huge; probably bigger than mine. It could have rolled anywhere. I forgot where the light switch was, and it should be close, but the cup kept rattling that I had no choice but to blindly follow the sounds, to stop it before it woke Sophie up. I got down on my knees and crawled after it.

The bathroom was so big that I don't know how far I crawled until I reached my hand out and stopped the glass from rolling around. The tile was cold, so my hands felt sort of numb from crawling. I was too busy with blowing on my hands to heat them up to actually stand up and do something, that I didn't notice the soft breathing behind me, and the door creaked, closing ever so slightly.

My breath hitched.

So what if I was being totally paranoid? I had every right to be.

I knew it! I knew it! There really _was_ a mental patient waiting for me!

But this wasn't time to congratulate myself; I had bigger things to worry about. Like a knife stuck in my back!

"Hello?" I whispered into the darkness. The breathing was louder, coming closer, yet still soft. If I wasn't listening as intently as I was, I probably wouldn't have been able to hear it. As foolish as I felt inside I was too afraid to stand up and go stand against the wall, and run into Edward's arms. Turn on the lights, too.

I gripped the cup with both hands tightly, and even though it was pitch black, I could tell my knuckles would be whiter than usual, I was gripping it so tight.

I crawled a little further; reaching the toilet. I braced myself.

Then I felt something grab my ankle and literally yelped out, trying to scramble away from the grip. _Oh shit, I'm gonna die!_

The hand that grabbed my ankle loosened the grip and slowly went up my leg. When it reached my thigh, the body the hand belonged to moved up so the body was right over mine. I swallowed in preparation to scream as I anticipated feeling a knife on my throat or something equally as terrifying, trying my hardest to crawl away.

Then I felt it. Breathing on my neck and my heart sped up. The scent coming from the air wasn't some bile smelling thing; not like a mental patient. It smelt like... like... like Edward!

"Leaving so soon?" he breathed silkily in my ear. Damn! Even though he made me swoon, that didn't mean I wasn't pissed. And that's when I snapped. I jumped away from Edward, hitting him in the arm as hard as I could.

"You... freaking... scared... the... living... shit... out... of... me!" I whispered furiously at him in between hits. What infuriated me more was that it didn't seem to faze him _or_ hurt him; he only kept chuckling.

He grabbed my wrist, and there was no way I could brake out of his grip. "I'm sorry, Bella," he said, but couldn't hold back his chuckles.

I yanked my hands out of his, glaring at him, even though it was still pitch black. "You should know I would be paranoid, what with it being Halloween night, and you sneaking up on me didn't help matters at all," I bit our sharply at him, resting a hand on my heart, trying to lower the unhealthy rate it was beating at.

"It was too good of a thing to pass up. After all, it _is_ Halloween night. What's Halloween without a healthy scare?" he whispered mysteriously at me, yet still sounding amused.

"I thought you were Micheal Myers!" I whispered, shoving his chest. "And I'll have you know that he _is_ an escaped mental patient. For all I knew, he could have finished you and Sophie off, then saving me for last, plotting on skinning me alive and eat me like that cannibal he is!" I was rambling, and it didn't help my heart, as I was now hyperventilating.

Edward took my hand that was on my chest and pulled me close, his strong arms constricting around my waist. "Nothing will happen to you," he cooed to me. "I was just messing around. It wasn't nice, I know."

I buried my face into Edward's shoulder. "You know I'm going to have to get you back, don't you?" I asked him, breathing in as much of him as I could. "When I was little, I used to call my dad in fear that something like this would happen. Oh, but no, now that I can rationally explain away every creak and squeak, it's the night where I am _this_ close from getting a heart attack. Even though it was just you messing around, I swear one of these days my paranoia will pay off because I'll be smart enough to not leave open the door when some killer gets loose while the rest of you claim that you aren't scared of anything. But then everyone I'll know will die and that will leave me alone, so wouldn't I rather go and die with you guys? Nope, I'd rather breath in some air. Some people are considered crazy for this kind of stuff but now I feel for them and understand since I've literally felt like I was in those movie scenes, which by the way, wasn't very nice--"

"Bella." Edward said firmly, cutting me off from my rant. "I know it wasn't nice. But you can't go off having this spasm attack."

I narrowed my eyes and pulled away. "It's not my fault you were being utterly insensitive!" Ok, I knew I was making this a bigger deal than it was, but hey, it would pay off some day.

"You know I'm sorry about that, Bella," he said. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him closer.

"I know you are. Just think before you act," I said.

"Don't take things so seriously," he retorted, leaning in even more so that our lips were brushing as he spoke.

"Maybe I don't want to," I whispered. Edward closed the distance between us as we attacked each other's lips. Yeah, nothing like angry kisses. Only I wasn't so angry now.

Edward was pretty rough with me. It wasn't like yesterday at the gym, where he was being all soft and guiding... oh boy, was he different.

Like I said... I didn't have too much experience with this. My tongue darted out pretty quickly as I licked his bottom lip. I had no clue if it was right, but when I felt his mouth opening to let me in, I felt like I had done it right. Good.

I felt Edward smirk against my lips as he started to swirl his tongue around mine, confusing me, as if to show me that _he_ was in charge here. I rolled my eyes, even though they were closed. Edwards lips were so soft, tasted so delicious. My head was spinning; Edward's scent was like a drug to me. I sucked on his bottom lip, sort of pay back for him nipping on it the other day. Edward grunted and pushed me on my back.

And here's the part where my panties start to soak wet....

He put his knees on either side of my waist and hovered over me. I was breathing loudly, literally panting. Edward's breathing was ragged, but not nearly as loud as mine. He bent his head down to my jaw and skimmed his nose around the edge of my jaw, once again making me go loco, laughing softly at me. I felt his hand behind my neck again, but his other hand rested on my waist. I felt nothing but the wetness between my legs. I couldn't believe how turned on I was.

He started to kiss my jaw softly, tickling my skin. He continued the assault on my neck and my poor heart was beating so fast you would think I just ran a marathon.

Edward lifted his head, kissing me softly at the corner of my mouth. It was so soft, I wasn't sure if I'd even felt it. But then, I felt it again. And again.

Except, it wasn't in the same place. He was making his way down my jaw and down my neck.

Oh yeah. I was definitely going to have to change my panties when we were done here.

He was making me so crazy, that a small, quiet moan escaped my lips. Edward paused and lifted his head. I didn't need the lights on to see that he was smirking at me.

"Shh," he whispered, managing to sound seductive, pressing a finger to my lips. "We don't want to wake up Sophie, now, do we?"

I shook my head, a fast jerky motion.

My sleeves were all the way rolled up by now, as were my sweats, we were being so crazy. Edward stopped teasing me and finally kissed me on the mouth, and I eagerly obliged. The way he kissed me... if I haven't gone crazy already, I would have right then. He was such a good kisser.

He was still hovering over me, his body pressed into mine, but not completely putting all of his weight on me. I could feel every muscle, every bicep.... He ran his fingers down my arm, causing me to shiver, leaving a trail of goosebumps, still kissing me. He shifted his hands to the right, his fingers playing with the hem of my shirt. Both of our lungs were running out of air, so we broke apart, trying to breath straight. It seemed as though he was more put together than me, though.

"Do you forgive me now?" he breathed, his lips brushing against mine, making my head spin.

"Ung..." I think I said. "Edward... please...."

"Please what?" he asked me, a smirk in his voice, making me grind my teeth. If he wasn't so darn sexy, I would still be pissed off at him.

"Just..." I panted, "...do something...."

"And what do you want me to do?" he asked me, still in that cocky voice. I huffed at him, feeling my face burn.

"Kiss me," I managed to say. He pressed his lips to mine. And that's it. None of the tongue action that we were doing before. And it didn't matter how much I ran my tongue up and down his bottom lip, he didn't open his mouth.

I pulled away and smacked him on the arm. "Edward," I hissed.

"What?" he said innocently. "All you said to do was kiss you."

"Well," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck, "if you really want me to forgive you, you have to kiss me like you mean it."

His breathing turn a little more shallow. "That's how you want it?" he asked me huskily.

I answered him by pressing my lips to his. And, _woah_!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I thought he was kissing really good before, he was _really_ going all out this time. His lips were soft on mine, yet still rough, full of desire. His tongue basically wrestled mine as we both fought for dominance. He literally _sucked_ on my tongue, making yet another moan escape me.

"I'm afraid to do anything else; looks like I have a screamer on my hands," he said once again in his cocky tone. "I can tell."

I rolled my eyes at him and blushed, but otherwise ignored him, biting his ear lobe. I yanked softly, meaning for it to be rough, yet soft, just like he was doing before with me.

A small sound came out of his mouth. It was more of a grunt and a huff, but if I wasn't mistaken, it was a really, really, _really_ quiet moan.

The sound made the wetness build even more in between my legs and I kissed him again. Since the bathroom was so big, I rolled him over so I was on top of him.

I wished the lights were on so that I could see his face. I could only imagine what it looked like. I bet mine was all flushed and sweaty, but that didn't matter to me. I flipped my hair out of my face and ran my hands up and down his stomach, up to his chest. Oh God, he didn't know how bad I've wanted to do this.

He caught my hand and pulled me up to him, our faces inches apart. Our breaths mingled as we prepared to kiss once again, not even bothering to start with closed mouths.

_ 'CAUSE WE ARE  
LIVING IN A MATERIAL WORLD  
AND I AM A MATERIAL GIRL  
YOU KNOW WE ARE LIVING IN A MATERIAL WORLD  
AND I AM A MATERIAL GIRL'_

We both jumped apart at the sound of my loud ring tone, telling me that Alice was calling. Edward and I both scrambled up to go downstairs and answer my phone before Sophie woke up. I yanked down my shirt since my stomach was showing, while Edward fixed the collar of his shirt and ran a hand through his already messy hair. I yanked a hand through my now ratted hair.

We both walked to the door, almost running into each other. He stepped out of the way and gestured for me to go first. I blushed and hurried out.

Once we descended the stairs, I hurried to my back pack and flipped open my phone just as it was about to stop ringing.

"What?" I hissed into the phone.

"BELLA?" she yelled into the phone, loud music in the background.

"What?" I whispered. "Why are you yelling?! And why are you calling me?!"

"BECAUSE! IT'S PRETTY LOUD OVER HERE, BELLA, DUH! THIS PARTY IS _WILD! _TOO BAD YOU ARE MISSING OUT. I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU! YOU KNOW HOW YOU ARE PROBABLY THE MOST PARANOID PERSON I KNOW? WELL, IT'S HALLOWEEN NIGHT AND I WASN'T SURE IF YOU CALLED THE COPS YET. ALSO,--" she was saying this so loud, that I had to hold the phone away from my ear as she talked. Why didn't she just go into another room?

"Shush!" I hissed at her. "Go into another room!"

"I AM!" she yelled.

I huffed. "Well, just to let you know, I didn't call the cops yet, and I was--" I was saying, but my eyes drifted to Edward, and I leaned away, bending my head down, whispering the last part, "I was doing some... _things_."

"REALLY?" she asked, not really caring. She obviously didn't know what kind of 'things' I was referring to. "AS I WAS SAYING BEFORE. I GAVE EDWARD THE ADDRESS TO THE HOUSE YOU ARE BABYSITTING AT, AND I WAS WONDERING IF HE MADE IT THERE."

Christ, the girl could talk so loud. I took another glance at Edward. He looked amusing. I leaned away again to whisper into the phone, making sure he couldn't hear me talking. "He did make it here. And you interrupted some... _things_ we were doing."

"WHAT KIND OF _QUOTE _THINGS _UNQUOTE _WERE YOU DOING?" she asked me. I took a deep breath.

"You know... _things_ things_..._" I said, hoping she would catch the hint.

"OH!" she said, and I could hear the exuberance bubbling up inside her. "ROSE!! GUESS WHAT?! BELLA WAS JUST IN THE MIDDLE OF HOOKING UP WITH EDWARD!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!"

I cringed as she yelled this extra loud for Rosalie to hear, knowing for sure that Edward could hear. I chanced a glance at him, my eyes darting towards him. He looked wickedly amused, and his eyebrows were raised. I blushed.

"AND DID I INTERRUPT YOU?" she asked me. As if she didn't know. I already said it.

"Yes," I whispered.

"OH! SORRY BELLA! HERE, I'M GONNA LET YOU GET BACK TO YOUR BUSINESS, BUT YOU ARE _SO_ GOING TO CALL WITH EVERY SINGLE DETAIL!!" she yelled, music blending in with her unnatural loud voice.

"I sure will," I growled and snapped the phone shut. Must she embarrass me like that? What if Edward wanted things like this to be private; just between us?

I slowly turned towards him, a sheepish smile on my face. "Sorry about that," I apologized. "You know how Alice can be...."

He grinned his lopsided grin. "Don't worry about it."

"Soo..." I said, looking down at my feet. "I still haven't totally forgiven you."

I peeked up at him, afraid to see his reaction. I mean, I obviously said that I wanted to roll around on the floor again. He was still, just staring at me.

And before we knew it, we jumped at each other, kissing aggressively once again. We didn't even bother going on the couch; the floor was preferred.

In between kisses and nudges, licking and sucking, (not in private areas, you dirty people) we were sort of telling each other something that we didn't know. Weird, yes. But that's just how it happened.

"I play piano," Edward grunted in between the butterfly kisses he was trailing across my neck.

"Really?" I squeaked. I didn't know much about piano. In fact, being the mature person I was, I still chuckled when the notes A-hole and G-string were mentioned from an instrument. I wasn't a person for instruments.

He huffed as I rolled him over so I was sitting on top of him. His sweater and shirt was tossed somewhere in the room, and, quite frankly... I felt pretty dang proud of myself to manage that off of him.

Even though he lost half of his clothing, I knew that this was just a full on make out session. Not sex. I wasn't ready for that.

I bit at his skin and said, "I think I'm a prude most of the time."

He rolled us over so now he was hovering over. I took the time to glance at his wonderfully toned chest, his heart-melting abs... and that v-line thingy that lead down to happy territories.

And right then I felt a rush of pride. Someone like _him_ was doing _this_ with _me_!

"You aren't a prude if your doing this," he disagreed with me, chuckling softly. My heart thumped unevenly as he moved his head down to lower territories. He stopped at just the hem of my shirt. At first I was freaking out, thinking that he was going to, I don't know, _finger me_? And I was going to have to stop it, but, of course, Edward didn't go down there. He just hesitantly moved my shirt up so that it just exposed my bellybutton.

He lightly kissed it, then his tongue darted out. It seems like it would be weird, but until you have it done to you, you would be begging someone to do it again. His tongue swirled around and around and around....

A moan escaped my lips as he went on. Was it just me, or did he seem like an expert at this? I could only imagine what he would be like if we were doing the real thing without a kid upstairs, holding us back.

Speaking of, what if Sophie walked in on us? I would feel very violated if my babysitter was hooking up with some model-looking guy in _my_ house. But... as gross as it was, it made me feel edgy, the thrill of doing something inappropriate and naughty, all the while in risk of getting caught made my blood pump. And I liked it.

And how kinky was this? We were half-half-naked in a home that wasn't ours.

This was my first time hooking up with someone, yet everything came naturally. I didn't feel like I needed to be an expert or anything like that, or have much experience, but when your in the moment, your instincts just take control. **(Livie, listen to those words.. lol I love you sooo much!!!) **

Yet, Edward seemed to really know what he was doing. Like... like he's been doing this for a while. Wait, has he been with any girl before me? I mean, not that we were having sex yet, but was he still a virgin?

Oh, who was I kidding? He probably lost his virginity when he was in kindergarten, he was so good looking and tempting.

Again, even though we weren't having sex, I needed to know this. I pulled away from Edward, also testing him. If he looked annoyed, that would mean that he was just using me to get into my pants. If he looked confused, that means that he didn't like me just because of future situations that might occur.

He looked up, and I was relieved to see that he didn't look annoyed, but confused and curious.

"What is it?" he asked me, concerned. "Did I do something wrong?"

I let out a breathy laugh and shook my head. "No-- the opposite. I was actually wondering...."

"Yes?" he asked me, curious and still confused.

"Are you... a... virgin?" I squeaked out, internally cringing.

He stared at me for a second. "Well...." he said, not meeting my eyes as he said this.

My eyes popped out of my head as I scrambled up.

"You mean to tell me that you aren't a virgin?!" I asked him.

He frowned. "Why, is that a bad thing?" he questioned me, staring up at me.

"Just answer."

"Yes, I am a virgin," he stated.

"Then why did you do that '_Weellllll'_ thing?" I asked him.

"What?"

"You know!"

"No, I don't." Ok, so now he was intentionally being a pain in the ass.

"Edward!"

He sighed. "Yes, I'm a virgin, but I'm not new to these... situations. Like I said, I've never had sex. I'm just not totally proud of my high school life. Why would it be so bad if I wasn't a virgin, anyway?"

I raised my eyebrows and sank to the ground. "No reason. I just needed to know." I said, taking a deep breath. "And what kind of things did you do in high school?"

"Things like this," he said casually. "I had quite a bit of free time in high school. Work wasn't a challenge for me, and... girls had no problem with it." He hung his head down in shame.

I sighed. Well, even though he was sort of admitting that he was a man/slut in his younger years... I couldn't hold that against him. I mean, even though I was known as the ultimate goody-goody virgin, it wasn't like I didn't _think_ about sex. Actually, I was always wishing that some guy _I actually liked_ would want to devirginize me, not some stupid jock, so that I could do it already. It was as if everyone but me was doing it.

Edward seemed like a re-formed bad boy. The past was the past, and the things he did was something that he couldn't change.

I scooted closer to him and peered up at him. "That's the past. This is the present. There's no point in looking at yesterday, or four years ago. What's done is done. I don't care if you were a man whore back then, as long as you aren't now. It only matters what you are going to do with your future," I said firmly, trying to smile at him to know that I was mad.

But, was it so sick of me to find him even _more_ attractive, now that he admitted that?

He smiled back at me, and his gaze lingered on my lips. I closed the distance and pressed my mouth to his. This time, the kiss was more tender. The warmth and softness of his lips overwhelmed me, making me feel dizzy.

Once we were both out of breath, Edward pulled away but brought his lips to my hear. "Bella," he breathed huskily.

"Mmm," I said, brining his mouth to mine again.

"_That was some party!_" said a voice, and the sound of a door closing. Edward and I jumped away from each other, as he quickly grabbed for his shirt and pulled it over his head on time.

I looked around to see if the living room was a mess. Phew. It wasn't. Just my things on the couch and cup on the coffee table with the TV on mute.

As Mr. and Mrs. Brock walked in, they froze when they saw us sitting up on the floor. I could only imagine what I looked like with my hair all over the place and ruffled clothes. Edward wasn't in better condition that I was, yet he still looked like he just finished shooting a commercial for Britney Spear's new perfume, where he's the guy rolling around with her. Grr.

Mrs. Brock opened her mouth but snapped it shut when she saw Edward. Her eyes widened. "_Dios mio!_ You, sir, are one handsome young thing!" she said, giggling. I heaved a sigh. The Brocks knew how to party, and knew how to settle down to take care of their child. But, with my knowledge, I could tell that she was on the happy juice, if you know what I'm saying.

She was a bit woozy, staring at Edward. Mr. Brock just said, "Is it just me, or does it seem a little cold in here?" and he wobbled into the kitchen, out of site.

"Humuna humana," Mrs. Brock whistled, still staring at Edward. Did this woman not remember that she was married?! But, that's what happens when you are on the happy juice. And it was such a genuine reaction.

Edward and I exchanged a look, and we silently agreed that he should leave, as should I. He stood up, pulling me up with him. He put on his toothy, dazzling smile that was sure to get her eating out of the palm of his hand. I sure would be, if I wasn't getting used to it.

He stuck out his hand. "My name is Edward Cullen," he said in his most charming voice, sure to melt her heart. Mrs. Brock looked flustered.

"Why, hello," she stuttered, shaking his hand. "You are a friend of Bella's, yes?"

He looked at me, smiling. "Yes," he replied.

"What were you two children doing on the floor?" she asked us, trying to blow a piece of hair out of her face. Thank God she wasn't fully drunk. Just a little tipsy.

I quickly thought of an excuse. "I... uhhh...." I said, toying with different ideas in my mind. "I dropped my earring and he was just helping me find it," I said lamely, hoping she'd buy it.

"Oh!" she perked. "If you cannot find it, I have a lot of them upstairs!"

"No, that's alright," I declined her. "But I think we really should get going."

She nodded in agreement and proceeded to give me my check, thank me, lightly harass Edward teasingly even more, and we finally made it outside.

"Tonight was... interesting," Edward said, opening the door for me to get into my truck.

I blushed. "It was. Thanks for ditching the party to come and see me," I said, biting my lip.

"It was my pleasure," he said, flashing a smile at me.

He leaned in to kiss me softly. I loved how he focused on my lips and tongue were doing, not was his dick wanted him to do. It made it even more sweet and tender.

"Bye," I whispered.

"Goodnight," he said and closed the door for me. He waved and walked towards his own car. I started the engine and drove home, exhausted.

* * *

Guess what I was thinking about when I got home?

_S-E-X_.

Why weren't Alice and Rosalie home yet?! I needed to tell them this. I needed to tell them the kinky things we did, getting naughty in a house that wasn't ours with a child asleep.

I still couldn't believe I hooked up with Edward. Like, the whole thing. Well, not the _whole _thing, whole thing. But Edward and I had taken a step further in our relationship. This was good, right?

I fell into a light doze on the couch, waiting for Rosalie and Alice to come home.

When they did come home, however, I was too tired to even stand up, let alone talk. They coaxed me up and cooed to me, getting me to walk to my bed.

When they were getting me under the covers, I heard them talking.

"Bella and Edward seem to be making a great couple," Alice whispered.

"Yeah," Rosalie agreed. "He's totally a hot catch. If I didn't have Emmett, I would think he's even hotter than I am letting myself think." She giggled quietly.

"I think Edward is perfect for her," Alice whispered, "but I think she needs to try out different options. We can't know he's her _'Mr. Right'_ unless she tries out different options.

Rose sighed, patting my shoulder. "Let's hope she'll go along with it."

Alice sniffed and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

Were they going to make me date other guys now? No. No, they couldn't make me do that. Could they? But then again, I've learned to never bet against Alice.

* * *

**A/N: Damn school is coming up on Tuesday for me. Grr... pisses me off. Ok, so I know that you guys would be want to get pissed at Edward for scaring her, but let's face it. Would you rather make out with him or kill him? Hmmmm... that's a tough one. Also, writing about their 'session' wasn't supposed to be all together arousing-sounding. Get it? I'm not trying to go for the 'mood', but just kissing in general. I'm not sure if I can make it sound at all hot, but picture it... yummy, Edward shirtless... ok that is my new Obsessive Object Of Horniness (OOOH) [lol, Liv, you feel for me.] Lawls. Well, it's a picture, not object, but hey, it's still hot. And DON'T give me hell for making them do kinky things in a house that isn't there with a child upstairs. I know full well what I'm doing, and, I don't like when people point out things that I already know. So, yes, it seems gross that they are making out with a child in the house. OH THE FUCK WELL. Whatevs, people. Lol. Again, I kinda typed this chapter in a rush, because I wanted to get it done before stupid school. Sorry for any errors; they are not intentional. I want to spend these last days being as lazy as possible, lol. Now, review, my peeps! I will give you all a cookie!! I promise, lol. Click the button, my lovelies, and let's see if we can hit 110 reviews, ok? :D**

**xoxo**

**Lucy **


	10. Just A Little Closer

**A/N: I know I told you this would be out sooner! But I've been really stressed lately, PLUS I restarted the whole chapter. So anyhoo, I am floating in the sky, in my bubble of happiness... I mean admit it. Edward is too damn sexy to leave hanging. There shall be lemons in later chapters! --KABOOM-- Yep! So I hope you people are happy like I am that I'm continuing this piece of shit story.. lol... oh well. It's mine and that's what makes me love it :-) Oh and there might be a change to character's personalities since my writing has kinda changed over time... lol.. Oh and before I forget, special thanks to ElleTwerd because she is a doll! Sorry, too, because this chapter is short. This is NOT the best I can do.  
**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own them.. yadda yadda blah blah blah. On with it!**

**

* * *

**Chapter 10

"Yes, sir," I said almost mechanically, irritated with my boss. He'd woken me up this morning with an urgent call about coming to work early this morning; turns out the intern wasn't the best, and they needed me back ASAP. Oh, now they needed me.

"And remember, send that license for me. I gave it to you last month. Bring it to the post office; and buy a stamp," he barked. I gritted my teeth to stop myself from growling at him.

"Sure thing," I said in a strained voice. "If that's all, I should go."

As soon as I hung up, I let out a pent up, frustrated shriek and threw my phone on my nightstand. I really hated my boss. I was the best there, _he knew it_, but he couldn't stand my attitude with him even though I tried my best to be polite. It was no wonder he let an intern 'settle' for a couple of weeks, in _my _position. I loved writing for his journal, but I didn't necessarily love _him_.

I heaved myself out of bed and padded into my bathroom, stripping out of my clothes and took a shower.

I let myself think about Alice and Rosalie's words that haunted me while I slept. Just when Edward and I were getting pretty heated up, they just all of a sudden decided that I should try out other guys. Sweet Lord Jesus, how would they feel if I just randomly told _them _that they needed to try out other guys? They were pretty much in the same situation as I was in. They met Emmett and Jasper and are just... sticking with them. How come they won't try other men?

Speaking of the little pixie, I would have to ask her opinion on what I should wear to work. I always liked to dress up my best, in order to, you know, have people take me seriously. Sometimes they just thought I was a piece of meat. Being female and one of the highest ranking at the little office meant either A) the boss was screwing you, or B) you were seriously good at what you did. No way in hell was I going to let people believe that I was actually _doing _the boss-- bleck!--, so I tried to let people see me as option number two. I mean come on, this wasn't the damn 1800's anymore; women were just as good as men, if not better.

As soon as I finished with my shower and my hair towel dried and into my robe, I tiptoed into Alice's room. She was, of course, wide awake like the morning person she was. She was reading a book called _Welcome To Temptation._ I giggled; she was a sucker for dirty books.

"Hey, Alice," I all but shouted, smiling brightly. She was so sucked into her book that she didn't notice me until I yelled. She jumped a little and narrowed her eyes; she wasn't used to being surprised. I smirked.

"What do you need, hon?" she asked, false sweetness coloring her tone. Her eye was pretty much twitching. I stifled a titter.

"I need your help; Hard Ass called, telling me that I needed to come to work," I replied nonchalantly. Alice's pealing laughter filled the room. She loved how I called him Hard Ass behind his back. Well, it was true. He always thought that he was _all that in a bag of potato chips. _

"You need some clothes?" she queried, although she already knew, as she was climbing out of bed and zooming into her closet. I had zero patience when it came to her throwing clothes at me, which Alice knew perfectly well, so she just came out with a mid-thigh black pencil skirt and a short sleeved button down blouse.

"Jesus Christ, Alice, can you please give me a _longer _skirt?" I grumbled. Alice rolled her eyes and retreated into her closet, digging around until she found what she needed. She appeared in front of me with the same kind of skirt, only it was knee length.

"There, happy?" she muttered, glowering at me. I beamed in response.

"Immensely so." I stood there and waited for her to finish picking out my underwear. I mean, this was ridiculous. I should be able to dress myself. If not that, at least my own _underwear. _I addressed this to Alice when she handed me a stupid white push up bra and stupid boy-short panties. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Well, I can't just let you walk around with a white cotton bra on. That's outrageous," was her reply. This made me roll my eyes, while she shoved glossy black pumps into my hands.

"Be lucky you have me! I can't imagine what you'd wear without me," she declared, shuddering. I rolled my eyes yet again and flipped her the bird, which only made her grin.

Once I was all changed with my hair all dry, and a _little _make up on, I put on my coat and got my purse, walking out to my truck. Once I realized it was raining cats and dogs, I shuffled into the house to get my umbrella.

I was in the middle of grumbling to myself about how heels were just a stupid invention and so irrelevant, when I realized I had to stop at the post office first because Hard Ass was way too lazy to do things himself.

It was just the beginning of November and it was cold as hell. The roads were full of puddles and slippery. It wasn't cold enough for snow, though, for which I was grateful for. But it was raining so hard that it was hard to see through the windshield, even with the wipers on.

When I made it to the post office, I parked as close as I could to the door. The parking lot was empty, so it wasn't hard. I parked and opened my umbrella. I mean, that couldn't be bad luck, could it? Technically, didn't the saying say that you couldn't do that when inside a building? Well, I was in my car. I eased out of my car, careful so I didn't break my legs since I was wearing these stinking four inch _spike heeled _pumps. Why I let Alice do this to me, I wasn't sure. Maybe it was because I trusted her judgment and I didn't particularly like looking bad.

Once I made it inside, I smacked myself in the head. There was a closer door somewhere on the other side of the parking lot. This entrance took me to an eerily empty hallway. I peeked around the corner to the left to see what was there. Only little locker type things. The floor was not carpet; it was shiny tile. I was careful to walk steadily so I didn't fall and crack my head open.

Everywhere I looked, there were those locker type things, which I guessed were things to keep mail in. The only thing I heard was the clickity-clack of my heels on the floor.

I figured that the floor was dry enough that I could turn my attention to my purse and fish around for the letter and money to buy a stamp.

Of course, I should've known that was a bad idea in the first place. I thumbed around in my purse, mad that I couldn't seem to find it. I stupidly thought that the next turn was to the little office where I could enter a room to buy my stamp. I was wrong. There was still the endless empty, eerily quiet hallway for awhile yet. I bumped into a wall, making me yelp out a curse. The impact against the wall caused me to wobble backwards. Of course, my heels didn't help, either. I was dazed, and I fell right on my ass.

It was then when I heard the most delicious laughter, laughter that was strangely familiar. It was so amused, so delighted. It was deep laughter, too, so it belonged to a boy. No, a man. I recognized the velvety smoothness to it....

I squinted, still a little dazed. But my eyes immediately widened when I saw a gorgeous man approaching me. I noticed the messy disarray of bronze hair, yet it seemed to work. I noticed the strong, masculine jaw. I noticed the smooth, perfect pale skin and wide, twinkling jade green eyes....

"Shit!" I whimpered. I just made a fool out myself in front of Edward. As I widened my eyes and focused on the angel getting closer, I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes, making myself snap out of it. I knew that I really wanted to see Edward, but this was out of hand. Now I was imagining him at a _really_ empty post office. What did I expect, him to start making out with me?

I sighed and opened my eyes again, prepared to see no beautiful man that I wished to be there. But, much to my pleasure _and_ displeasure, he was still there. He was now leaning over me. Pleasure because well, he was _Edward. _Displeasure because he saw what a klutz I was.

"Bella?" he asked, amusement still coloring his voice. "Are you alright?" His voice stroked my senses.

"Ungh," I think I said, trying to stand up. I felt him grab my hand, effortlessly helping me stand up. I widened my eyes again and focused on him. He was as beautiful as ever. He smiled a little uncertainly. I felt a tightening in my stomach, towards my... area. I shuffled my feet.

"I'm... I'm alright," I said breathlessly, forgetting all about my fall as I stared into his face.

He lifted a perfect eyebrow. "You look a little dazed," he murmured with his soul-stripping eyes searching my face. I flushed at the attention, and looked away, biting my lip.

"It's because I am," I replied bravely. "I hate when I do that; just out of the blue fall."

His eyebrows drew together in confusion. "That's not a reason to be dazed," he said, the words rolling from his mouth confidently. Like he was trying to get something out of me.

I clucked my tongue and purposefully avoided what he just said. "So, what are you doing here?" I asked a little bit too quickly.

He pursed his lips for a second, looking at me. Debating. "Just... delivering something to my mother." He said this a bit too innocently, and he immediately turned on the charm. I refused to be sidetracked by his smile.

"Hmmm," I said, narrowing my eyes. As I said this, the sly light to his eyes left and then his charm became more genuine. His eyes trailed down my body and his eyebrows rose.

"Work?" he questioned. I nodded mutely; his eyes were positively sparkling. I felt a dampening in my panties. I quickly looked away.

At that moment, everything from last night came flooding to me. I blushed, and when I looked at Edward, all I could think about was his lips on mine, on my neck, on my stomach.

Edward seemed to catch on.

That was it. I was so turned on I just didn't care. We both stared into each others eye's for a full second-- reading each other's desire-- and then we jumped aggressively towards each other. I, amazingly, managed to leap up and wrap my legs around his waist, which was quite a feat considering my tight skirt. However, it _did _ride up, allowing me to wrap my legs around him. I was careful not to let my skirt ride of and press my... _private _against his stomach, so he wouldn't feel how much of a hornball I was. My fingers tangled in his hair as he pressed one hand on the nape of my neck and the other on my lower back.

We stared at each other for one long, heat-filled second as we took in each others desire. His eyes were sparking with lust. We attacked each others lips, not even bothering to start close-mouthed. He hugged me so tight it was difficult to breathe, but I wanted him to hold me closer, tighter. His tongue stroked mine and I moaned against his mouth as I pressed my lips harder against him, causing him to stagger backwards.

He kissed me for all he was worth as I did the same. He bit my lip when I came up for air, making me forget about my lungs for a second; I kissed him again. When it was absolutely crucial I get oxygen, I pulled away, but he only showered my neck with butterfly kisses. I tightened my legs around his waist and I bit his ear lobe. His eyes flashed up to mine, and his eyes had a very sly look to them. I ducked in and kissed him on the mouth again. Our tongues once again fought for dominance, but, since he was just _so _experienced, he won and managed to get a moan out of me again. _Damn!_

I was a bit higher than him since I had my legs wrapped around his waist. He broke away while I did what he did to me earlier; kiss his neck. I didn't particularly know what I was doing, but I recalled my memory of what he did to me minutes ago. My eyes darted up and I saw him looking down, his full lips, slightly swollen from kissing, parted. At first I thought he was looking at my breasts-- making me blush-- but he wasn't. His expression was slightly thoughtful. But he looked at me and caught me watching. He wiped the look from his face and immediately kissed me, so aggressively and erotically that I felt my panties damped even further. As his tongue entered my mouth, I made sure that my legs were securely tight around his waist before I let my hands travel and wonder down his chest and towards his abdominal area. Plus, Edward had a tight grip on me so I was sure I wouldn't fall. I squeaked against his mouth as I felt the hard planes of his abs, loving the way it felt to be pressed against him.

I felt a rush of pride that this beautiful man was kissing me. How strange! I would've never dreamed it would happen to me.

I didn't see it coming, but Edward lightly grabbed my hands and put them around his neck. Why was beyond me. But I got my answer. I tightened my arms around his neck and kissed him hard as his hands drifted to my thighs. I stiffened, but Edward's persuasive mouth got another answer out of me. I was slightly nervous as to why his hands were on my thighs.

He hands slowly drifted under my skirt, well, what was left covering my thighs since it was bunched up. He very gingerly stroked the side of my thigh, _thisclose _to my... area. His stroking became a bit coaxing-ish, sort of massaging. All I could think of was what it would feel like if he would let his hands drift upwards. Suddenly, his thumb grazed the edge of my panties, making me pull away from his mouth to pant and arch my chest into his. I looked into his eyes. He was sort of smirking at something. I narrowed my eyes, but he did it again. I moaned, laying my head on his shoulder. He did it again, except on the other side. He was teasing.

"Please..." I groaned, burying my face into his neck.

I nearly lost my mind when he pressed his thumb _right _where I was leaking moisture. I was sure he could feel it, even though my panties were in the way. He knew _exactly _how wet he made me.

"Edward!" I squealed and moaned right into his ear. "Please... just... Oh!" I panted.

"Come on, just... j-just do it," I all but begged breathlessly. Edward laughed softly but brought his lips to my ear.

"Bella, not while we are in the post office," he whispered huskily, managing to sound slightly amused with me. I could hear the desire burning under his light words.

But his words snapped me out of my pool of happiness with Edward.

Well. I was mortified. I pretty much begged Edward to finger me, embarrassingly enough.

"Oh," I said breathlessly, blushing harder than I ever had in my entire life. I looked at Edward. He was looking at me, amusement in his eyes. I blushed harder and pressed my lips to his one more time. I tried as gracefully as I could to disentangle myself from Edward. I unlocked my death grip around his waist, nearly falling. But Edward put both hands on my hips and carefully pulled me down.

"I'm sorry," I began to apologize, but he pressed his fingers to my lips.

"Don't worry, Bella," he said seriously. But then he grinned my favorite crooked smile. "I don't regret it."

After we said goodbye, I realized that Edward must have thought that I was a very perverted woman. But hey, who could blame me? I was just being sucked into his charm.

And I didn't say no. Christ, I did not.

-----

"Woah!" I nearly jumped out of my skin as my phone rang. I was currently sitting in front of Alice and Rosalie, having a staring contest. I grouched to myself for losing while they both smirked, and I picked up my phone.

"Hello?" I asked in an irate voice.

"Bella? Bella, is that you?" I hear a familiar voice ask. Renee. Damn.

"Who else?" I asked, smirking. Her voice was slightly hysterical so I hesitated on the sarcasm. "What's up?"

"Well...." she hesitated, her voice trailing off.

"What?" I pressed, frowning.

"Phil's mother had a little bit of a stroke," she admitted.

I felt my mouth open in shock. Phil's mother and I were really close, so it hurt me to know that she had a stroke.

"WHAT?! How do you get a 'little bit of a stroke'?" I asked in outrage. "That's like saying she got a 'touch of AIDS'."

"Well, she got a stroke! And so now we need Required Assistance...." she trailed off again.

"Required Assistance," I repeated, mulling over the word in my head. "Is that some PC word for nursing home?"

"Shhh!" she all but shouted. "Don't say the N Word!"

I rolled my eyes. I forgot that Phil was sensitive about his mother and didn't want to put her in a nursing home.

"Do what's best for her!" I hissed. "She shouldn't suffer because Phil doesn't want her to go to the N Word!"

She sighed. I heard someone call her name in the background. "I have to go, sweetie, but I'll call you to tell you how things go, alright? I love you."

"Alright. Love you too," I muttered darkly and ended the call.

Alice and Rosalie weren't listening to me, but having their own little staring contest. I glared and slapped my hand on the table.

"HEY!" I shouted, waving my hand in their faces. "Didn't you hear?!"

"Yes," they replied simultaneously.

I growled impressively and leaned back in my chair. "It'll all turn out for the best, Bella," Alice said simply. I felt my eye twitch.

"Ok. We have something to talk about with you," Rosalie said seriously and turned away from Alice. "It's important."

OH Jesus. I held my breath, knowing what was coming. This thing has been haunting me ever since and I just _knew _they would bring it up sooner or later. I wasn't sure if they knew I was half awake when they made that comment the night before. And damn! Edward and I were growing so much closer!

"So. We know how you and Edward are growing so close now adays, and I'm not sure about the physical, but I'm pretty darn sure you've done something with that," Alice started, wiggling her eyebrows. "However, how can we be sure if he's right if you haven't tried others, too? We know that you are infatuated with him and that you don't want to be separated, but I think you should learn how to swim before being thrown in the deep end."

I glowered and opened my mouth to retort, but Rosalie spoke over me.

"We aren't saying you have to stop seeing Edward. Not at all. But we just want you to have options, Bella. Because what if Edward hurts you? What would you do then? We don't want you moping around the house, and we sure as hell don't want your heart broken. We know that Edward's a good guy, but who knows?" Rosalie said, raising and eyebrow.

I nodded, acting like I understood. Oh, they wanted me to go out with other people? I understood and was touched by their caring gesture but that just wouldn't do with me. And I knew that no matter how hard I fought it, they would keep pressuring me until I snapped.

So I had a plan.

All I had to do was act like I was going out with the men that _they _had chosen for me, and call up Edward instead. If they didn't have to do that, then I didn't have to do that.

It was unfair.

I tried to keep the odd revelation from my face and I stared at them. "Ok," I said simply and calmly.

They both stared at me, wide eyed. "Really?" they asked, their expressions apprehensive, like I was going to snap.

"Really," I replied almost evilly.

Oh, I had a plan.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is so sinfully short! I'm sorry! And it isn't my best writing because I was sorta rushed in it... I just wanted to get down my idea so I can start on the juicy stuff. So I'm sorry if you didn't really like how short this was and how stupid it was. But the next one will be better, I promise. Long like the other ones, and better written. Oh, and about Edward and Bella's little encounter at the Post Office... --grins evilly-- I just had to. Got a problem with it? Ok. That's your opinion. But this is my story. Again, that last little section was rushed because I just wanted the idea down so I can get started on the good stuff. Ok? More detailed chapter up next. And as always.. REVIEW! I want to see if I can get passed the 125 mark, alright? If I get encouraging reviews, I'm sure it will motivate me to type faster and make new ideas. Again, please excuse this horrible chapter! Just REVIEW! :) I love you guys.**


	11. Entering Edward

**A/N: Random funfact: Women blink nearly twice as much as men do.  
**

**This is a late RIP to Michael Jackson! My best friend on this site (Cinnamon. Loves) just loved him and now she's upset that he's dead! Ahhh how sad :( He was an amazing singer, though. :) Ok, ok... umm hey to Sophia24.. I honestly didn't know that it was dangerous to drive in heels.. lol that's good to know. But guys, if everything isn't factual, just know that this is purely a work of fiction and I don't really know facts about the whole world! Excuse further mistakes. And again, thank you to ElleTwerd, because she is a sweetheart and makes me so happy :) Oh! And go check out the story called Luminosity by Cinnamon. Loves; it's on my favorites list. It only has one chapter so far but it has potential! Go check it out! SO. New chapter! And just so you know.. there is a surprise in here.... :)  
**

**

* * *

**Chapter 11  
BPOV

"Waiting sucks."

The voice was male and came from behind my right shoulder. I was so startled by the sound of another's voice rising above the undemanding Top 40 sound track, I nearly spazzed myself off my bar stool.

The voice tried again, this time with an awkward paraphrase.

"It sucks, you know, to wait," he said uncomfortable. I almost voiced my agreement, but I stopped myself. Rosalie and Alice had set me up on this date, and the man never showed up. I was drinking my third Gin and Tonic, sitting at the bar all alone dressed up in a stupid dress and stupid heels with makeup on.

To have confirmed the source of the voice would have required me to turn away from the bar. I was the only one seated there, so I knew the voice was directed at me. And yet confirming this fact wasn't something I was particularly inclined to do. There was a swift movement, followed by a fresh whiff of citrus, sweat, and testosterone. The voice had taken the empty stool to my right.

"I hate being the first to show up anywhere," he continued, so sure of his hypothesis. "You feel like such a jackass."

The shift from first to second person was reflexive and unintentional. This is how his kind talk. To confirm, I refocused my attention away from my drink to his face. I was unsurprised by what I saw: a white, early twenty-something male with a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses resting on top of his head. His light brown hair was mussed in a calculated way that required far more product than neglect. He was broad-shouldered in his I'm-so-secure-about-my-masculinity-that-I-can-wear-pink Lacoste polo. A popped collar brushed against his ruddy rugby-player cheeks. Without looking down, I knew he had flip-flops on his feet.

Dude. He looked like he was named Dude.

It could've been worse. Plenty of guys renounce Dude's scruffy preppy aesthetic and take to the sidewalks of this town wearing gaudy madras shorts, striped button-downs, and pastel sweaters knotted around their shoulders, like illustrations straight out of the first edition of _The WASP Handbook._ Earlier today on the way to the bar, I spotted a yachting, lockjawed specimen wearing green twill trousers (a corny word, but the only one that fits) with tiny ducks embroidered all over them. _Tiny ducks_. I almost pointed and shrieked, which is something I hadn't done since first grade when I got smacked in the back of the head for screeching at a man with cantaloupe goiter in the frozen-foods aisle of the supermarket.

Dude wasn't hot. He wasn't not. As with most guys of his privileged station and prep school pedigree, Dude was put together well-- blandsome-- which is all he needed to get laid on a regular basis. He was inspecting me inspecting him, a bemused expression on his face. He lifted himself up ever-so-slightly on his faded denim haunches, a gesture that indicated that he'd give me only a few more seconds before writing me off as embittered, boyfriended, or otherwise impenetrable.

"Hmmm," I murmured. Then I sipped my drink and tried not to wince as the alcohol scarred my windpipe.

Dude settled back onto his stool. My indifference intrigued him, as all romantic impediments do. It's been scientifically proven. The harder the conquest, the more you want it. It's called frustration-attraction.

"So, you know, when we noticed you"--he thrust his carefully disheveled hairstyle toward a table in the corner, where three identically dressed dudes were pretending to drink beers instead of watching us--"we figured that one of us should come over and keep you company until your friends arrive." The fact that his friends were still sitting over_ there_, instead of cockblocking him over _here_, suggested that money had exchanged hands before Dude made his approach.

_"Twenty says I'll get her number."_

_"I'm in."_

_"Me too."_

_"Dude, you are so owned."_

"Hmm," I said again. I wasn't about to let him know that I was being stood up.

"So where are they?" he asked. "Your friend?"

It wasn't an unreasonable question. I was, after all, a female sitting conspicuously alone in a bar, drinking alcohol on a Saturday barely past 11 at night. Girls who looked like me didn't drink liquor by themselves in bars, apparently. Granted, I was a little flattered about this unsaid assumption. I was, after all, wearing a mid-thigh black dress and gold strappy heels. As long as he didn't ask about the fight I was engaged in to resist putting this on (even though I lost), I was good.

"My friends aren't here," I said, since it was the truth. "Just me."

My first cryptic yet intelligibly human response (which was a surprise since I was close to drunk) made him break out into a smile. His teeth, it almost goes without saying, were thermonuclear white. Too fake.

"I'm Dave," he said, extending a gentlemanly hand. "And you are...?"

"I'm Jenn," I lied, trying not to blush. But the alcohol was helping a bit. "With two _n'_s."

"Two _n_'s?" Dude was emboldened by my two multi-syllabic replies in a row. "And how do you defend this blatant overuse of unnecessary consonants?"

Dude thought very highly of himself, and he considered this comment the be charming as hell. As a female, I didn't have to play along in the same way. Just sitting there, seemingly agog at his patrician charms and in possession of a functional vagina, really was the only participation required on my end. And yet I couldn't stop myself.

"I need two _n_'s," Jenn-with-Two-N's continued in a trilling, buzzed voice. "Because one's naughty and the other is...."

"Nice?" he offered.

"Or not," I mumbled, shooting the rest of my Gin and Tonic down my throat. I called to the bartender to get me another one.

Dude laughed really, really hard. He thought I was being ironic, which I was. But he was unaware of the full extent of this parody playing out before him. I was seriously and really getting drunk.

"Why haven't I seen you around here before?" Dude asked, his tone colored with amusement.

"I don't usually go to bars, you see," I slurred, dropping my chin into my hand.

"I didn't think so," he commented.

I gave him a look and shot the whole drink down my throat in one long gulp. It was starting to burn less. Bella Swan was a puker, but Jenn-with-Two-N's could handle her liquor. Dude lifted his finger to alert the bartender that we'd like another round.

I stared at him, shocked.

He knew I was a little (ok, more than a little) woozy, so he was going to get me even more drunk?

But then I thought about how I was stood up. About how Alice and Rosalie were forcing me to try out other guys when they didn't do the same. How I hadn't talked to Edward since the day at the post office.

I didn't really take note how Dude slipped something into the drink.

The drink was calling to me. I needed to be numb from the emotions, if only for a little bit, so I willingly slugged some more in my mouth.

"So you don't work around here? Live here?" he queried, taking a sip of his Stella Artois.

"No," I replied in a slur, "and no."

"So if you don't mind me asking," Dude said, cracking his knuckles in such a way that required him to flex his lats, delts, and pecs, "what are you doing here?"

"I... don't... know." Each word was a mystery unto itself. Why _was_ I here? I could be at home, talking to Edward on the phone.

Dude smiled, because he thought I was joking. But it was a tight smile, one that betrayed his concern that I might be a bit of a nutcase, a drunken one-night stand not worth the psychotic hangover. He asked a question designed to get a better sense of what he was dealing with.

"Breathe!" I blurted, taking another drink. "I breathe, eat, sleep, all that stuff!"

I stood up on my two unsteady feet and wobbled away from him. First of all, I wasn't about to let that stupid preppy college boy wanna-be take advantage of me when I was vulnerable, and second of all, I needed to call the evil pixie.

But there was one thing I needed.

I turned around and wobbled back to the bar and picked up my drink. "I need this, thank you very much," I blubbered, trying to focus on his now shifting form. "Stop moving so fast!" I chastised.

"Wait, where are you going? Can I get your number?" he called after me when I turned away. I flipped him the bird over my shoulder and walked shakily to a remote table.

I used my wiggly fingers and typed in Alice's number, but accidentally hit a few wrong buttons. "Ah! Shit, come on!" I yelled at my phone in proper drunk-girl fashion. I finally got the right number and held the phone to my ear, waiting impatiently for Alice to pick up.

"Alice speaking!" the pixie chirped into her phone. I finished the rest of my drink before speaking.

"That devil," I said, my voice colored with unwilling amusement and hostility. "That bastard stood me up! Pick--" I paused to burp and uttered _Oh!, _"me up or there will be pay to hell!"

I paused again and realized I said _pay to hell _and not _hell to pay._ I burst into giggles. "OOPS!" I shouted into the phone, my chortles the loudest thing in the bar besides the music.

"Bella," Alice said, her voice concerned. "Are you... drunk?" Her voice was careful and slow, as if I was retarded.

"Um, I think you are right about that--" I started, but all of a sudden everything was so loud. There was a big buzzing noise in my head, causing me to gasp. I pulled the phone away from my ear and glared around the room. "CAN YOU GUYS BE QUIET?! I'M TRYING TO SPEAK WITH MY FRIEND HERE! STOP THE BANGING!"

I gave the room one last glare, looking at their startled faces and smiled. "God, it's so loud in here!" I shouted, squinting my eyes shut and laying my head in my arms.

I heard Alice's voice yell something but I didn't register what it was, because the scraping and banging was getting louder. I opened my eyes and saw that no one was doing anything, just sitting around and giving me annoyed looks. I shut my phone off and stuffed it in my purse, holding my hands over my ears and squeezing my eyes shut.

"Stop!" I cried. It was loud. Much too loud. There was tingles going up my spine and my face felt like it was on fire. Now the tingles felt like spiders crawling up my arms, up my legs and my shoulders.

I don't know how long I sat there, begging for them to be quiet, but suddenly I was up. Off of my chair, and floating into cold air. The air felt nice, really, on my flaming face and it made the crawling spiders disappear. I shifted my head to the left and snuggled my head against whatever was keeping me afloat, smiling. This thing smelled very familiar and very _nice_. I inhaled more of the delicious scent and sighed.

"Bella," I heard a velvety voice call. It was laced with concern and worry. I dragged my eyelids open and looked around; I was indeed outside in the November air. I looked in confusion to the right.

Ah. There was, of course, Edward carrying me. His glorious angel's face was contorted in concern. I smiled and patted his cheek, murmuring, "You are so pretty." I dropped my head and smiled; everything looked upside down, now.

"Look, the trees are sideways," I giggled, turning my head to the left and looking as far down as I could. My hair was hanging up in the air... the air was grovel! I panicked and sat up again, earning a chuckle from Edward because of my mood swing. Oh. It was because Edward was carrying me and I let my head drop.

"Oh when the saints! Go marching in! Oh when the saints go mar-ching _in_," I sang, baffled by my choice of song.

"Bella... I think I should bring you home," Edward said soothingly, probably freaked out by my drunk-ness.

I quickly sat up and hugged him closer to me, as if that would keep him from taking me home.

"No!" I shouted, shaking my head frantically. "It feels good out here. Just let us stay here for a bit."

Edward's impossibly green eyes were reluctant and wary but he nodded, eying me doubtfully.

"If it will help," he said, his eyebrows pushed together. I nodded and closed my eyes.

The buzzing in my head had gone down a bit, and every time I inhaled Edward's scent, it went down even further. I was still drunk out of my mind and I kept belting out into song, but Edward was patient with me and held me in his arms in the soothing cool air, chuckling once in a while, stroking my hair back and pressing his lips onto my forehead.

And before I knew it, everything went... black.

* * *

"She's been intoxicated, I'm afraid," was the first thing I heard. The voice rang a bell in my head. Not familiar, not unfamiliar, but very appeasing. Very soothing. I smiled a bit.

"Maybe I should have brought her home right away." Another voice. This one I knew right off the bat was Edward. I always knew when Edward was there. His voice was dripping with concern and shame. I wanted to open my eyes and comfort him, but it seemed as if there were weights glued to my eyelids. I couldn't open my eyes and I was only half-conscious.

"No, you did the right thing by keeping her where she was and calling me. Bringing her home would have done nothing but take more time for me to get there," the first voice said in a consoling tone.

"I know," Edward said, still distressed. "But Carlisle, I want to know who drugged her."

I tried to wake up, wanting to tell them what I remembered. But even then, my struggles to wake up, I didn't really have a clue what happened. Who was with me and why. I felt an odd urge to giggle and sing again. I repressed the feeling and listened on.

"We can't know that, son, until she wakes up. But for now, we did all we needed to. We just need to wait."

With that, there was silence. I couldn't help but fall asleep again.

* * *

EPOV

One word has been on my mind since that originally boring day at Ruby Tuesdays.

Correction: One _name_ has been on my mind.

Bella.

When I first saw her, I was amazed. Sure, I've found women attractive before. Not the way I found Bella beautiful, though. I preferred not to use the terms 'hot' or anything like that. It just didn't fit well with me. She was just so very innocent; any other words than beautiful or gorgeous or anything in that manner shouldn't be used at all to describe her, in my opinion.

Her long chocolate brown hair went down to about her waist. She was a very petite woman; very short, but not as short as her friend Alice. She had those subtle feminine curves that showed how much of a woman she was. Her pale skin always seemed to glow. And her eyes. I always found myself getting lost in those deep, chocolate brown orbs. It seemed as though every time she looked into my eyes, she was looking right at my very soul.

Making her blush was one thing that amused me. It wasn't a very hard thing to do. I loved watching the pink color her pale cheeks, making her look even more lovely than usual. I was beginning to get used to seeing her look down self consciously, hiding her eyes from me, and her face flushing the most flattering color of red. Her thick fringe of long brown lashes always cast a shadow down her cheek bones, making her look endearing.

It certainly saddened me to know that Bella didn't think she was very attractive. Someone that beautiful shouldn't think so poorly of herself. If she only saw what I saw, and everyone else for that matter, she wouldn't always be so self conscious all the time. I would sometimes see her looking at me in a pained way, as if someone like her didn't deserve someone like me.

To me, it was the other way around. In my past, I wasn't exactly what you could call 'innocent'. If anything, _I_ didn't deserve Bella.

Bella had the most expressive face that I've seen yet. Most of her emotions played across her face clear as day, much to my delight. She was different then most of those girls who craved attention. Bella didn't exactly care too much everyone else thought of her, as far as I could tell. There were many times when I find myself wishing that I could read her mind. See, with other people, they seemed... predictable. It was as if I already knew what they were thinking, and the things that came out of their mouths didn't exactly impress me too much. If they edited what they were saying from their thoughts, that didn't seem much of a matter to me, because it would mean the same thing.

But Bella... she was unpredictable, that much I was sure of. When she thought about what she was saying _before_ saying something frustrated me, but I didn't show it. I didn't want to scare Bella off. I don't think that she realized that she was editing what she was saying, but I certainly did, and it didn't make me too happy. I wanted to hear what she had, straight from her heart.

Lucky me, she had an expressive face. I could tell if she was irritated, happy, sad, etc. I always found myself wondering what upset her if she seemed unhappy, wanting to fix it for her. And when she laughed or smiled, I wanted to find out what exactly made her smile, and make her smile again.

Her smile lit up her whole face, making her even more beautiful, if that's possible. It was contagious. If she smiled, I smiled.

And the way she smelt; it made her more attractive. She smelt of freesias, probably my favorite fragrance now. If I told Emmett that, no doubt would he accuse me of being obsessed.

Ok. Maybe I was.

Was it so bad that all I thought about was her, and when I was around her, I was always attentive to what she was doing, readying myself to catch her if she fell?

Emmett would accuse me of being a stalker.

I didn't want to admit that I basically fantasized about Bella when I wasn't busy. And I'm not going to lie and say that everything I think about that includes her is innocent. Some of them: innocent enough.

But he would accuse me of being perverted.

I chuckled at the thought of Emmett pointing an accusing finger at me, whilst chortling the whole time. He didn't realize that I could say the same to him. He constantly talked about Rosalie, and I was sure he was starting to have wet dreams.

Emmett and I weren't the only ones. Jasper was now checking his phone every minuet ever since he gave Alice his number, always having this faraway look on his face. Emmett and I suspected that he was fantasizing about Alice. I didn't give him as much crap about it as Emmett did.

And I never imagined that something that felt so real to me happened so fast. When I first asked Bella to ditch Ruby Tuesdays with me, I thought I was being too straight forward. To be honest, I didn't really think through my question before I blurted it out. Bella's beauty was just too dizzying....

To my pleasure, she accepted it. We just hit it off. I always felt like I've known her my whole life; we just had so many things in common. We never had those awkward silences, and if there were and silences, they were comfortable. I always felt perfectly content when I was in Bella's presence.

When I took Bella out on our official first date, I found myself getting caught in her voice, eagerly listening to every word she had to say. I was always amazed with her; she wasn't like any other woman I've known. She made me laugh and smile, never wanted to leave her presence, to marvel at her beauty and out-of-the-norm personality.

And when we first kissed? An explosion of fire works.

If I was being honest to myself, I had to admit this was getting out of hand. My dreams were filled with Bella -- and only Bella. She was all I thought about.

I shook my head. I needed to try out Emmett's advice he once gave me, to try and think about something less appealing.

Back in high school, I was once a much more different person than I am today. I've always known the effect on people, women in particular, though it wasn't something I enjoyed too much. Like I had once said to Bella; people don't know me by just looking at me. They couldn't just think that I was such a great guy, just because of how my face looks. High school... I was adolescent. I didn't know much of anything of the world, and that everything wasn't about girls or popularity. When my parents sent me to a new school, much different from the one I was used to, I'll admit that I was a little afraid of what people would think of me. Typical. Doesn't every child in school want to be noticed, and not hated?

The people who gave me most attention were the girls. The guys seemed to like me because of how well I played sports, or how well I did with women. Even then, I didn't necessarily get what was so great about getting all of the girls, or how far you threw the football. I just went with the flow. Jasper was already part of the football team, and Emmett joined as well. We were pretty much the... object of their obsessions, if you will. I soon grew shallow, using women as if they were pieces of dirt.

Oh boy did I stop. Not only did reality hit me hard in the face back then, but my parents also had to talk some sense in me. I realized that it wasn't about how well you rank in the social pyramid at school, nor how far you throw the football. I was disgusted with myself. I even said sorry to every woman that I've treated like dirt. I had to get everyone to stop calling me the name about some nonsense of bedding every woman I met. Because, truth is, I was a virgin and still am.

My past wasn't something that I was too proud of. Once I finished high school, and went on to college, I erased my adolescent past and moved on to the future. My goals were no longer about women or sports. Studying to become a doctor became my everything.

I just didn't know that I would meet a women who actually had the possibility of stealing my heart. It certainly wasn't something that I expected.

The phone ringing snapped me out of my musings.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hi, Edward, this is Alice," the voice on the other line chirped almost nervously. I frowned.

"Hello. What do you need?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

There was a pause. She hesitated, as if I were the right person to be calling and then responded, "It's Bella."

Upon hearing her name, I snapped to full attention and asked her what was wrong.

"She's drunk out of her mind and her date stood up her up," Alice explained, her voice placating for some reason. "I need you to pick her up because I'm a bit busy at the moment. If either Rose or I could do it ourselves, we would."

"No, no," I reassured her, already picking up my coat. "Where is she?"

"Out at a bar," she replied and gave me the address. We said goodbye and hung up.

As I got into my car and started the engine, I thought. Who was this person Bella was going on a date with? _Why _was she going on a date with someone? Not that I owned her, but if she wanted to go out somewhere, she only had to ask me.

Unless she was... not interested?

I shook my head. I wouldn't bother her with this until the time was right. Bella already had enough to deal with and there wasn't much I could do with her feelings about me. I did not control her and I respected her opinions either way.

Once I pulled into the parking lot, I cut the engine and hurried into the bar. The bar was almost empty, I noted when I got inside. It was dim and there was an odd moaning sound coming from a table in a corner.

My eyes zeroed in on the woman at the table, her hand over her ears and her expression so pained that it broke my heart. And once I realized that it was Bella, I darted over to her and pick her up, holding her bridal style. She didn't seem to notice that I picked her up, so I took the moment to worry over her.

She had her eyes closed tightly, her face contorted into discomfort and pain. I frowned and looked at her dress. Would she really dress up like _this _for her date? And who in their right mind would stand Bella up? I couldn't tell. I noted her shoes and frowned again. She didn't like to wear heels. All of this was totally going against Bella's standards.

It wasn't that she didn't look beautiful. Was she lovely? Intensely so. I had to control my desire I got from just looking at her. But I didn't want Bella to be uncomfortable, and I'd imagine this wasn't what she'd willingly wear. I pressed my lips together in a tight line as I wiped some smudged black under her eye. She had been crying.

I became alert when Bella started to stir. "Bella," I said gently, nudging her arm.

I watched warily as she opened her eyes and she stared at me. Her wide brown eyes were full of desire as she looked at me, but I couldn't help but notice her dilated pupils. I frowned. She picked up her petite hand and patted my cheek, murmuring, "You are so pretty." I almost chuckled, but I was still worried.

Bella then dropped her head and started mumbling some nonsense about the trees being sideways and giggling. I watched her with one eyebrow raised as she tilted her head every which way and, when she dropped her head back, she panicked. I chuckled, pressing my lips into her hair. I wouldn't drop her. She was very light.

When she burst into song, I stressed. She should get some rest.

"Bella... I think I should bring you home," I said, wincing as I noticed my voice was laced with concern. I didn't want her to be freaked out.

She scrambled up and hugged me to her, her arms around my waist and embracing me tighter than I would have every thought she was capable of.

"No! It feels good out here. Just let us stay here for a bit."

I watched her, seeing her expression get serious and I noticed that she seemed to be calming a bit. Was it the cold air that seemed to be soothing her?

"If it will help," I said, eager to make her happy. But I didn't know if this was the right thing. However, as she closed her eyes and started to sing again, I pressed my palm against her forehead and noted the fever had gone down just a bit. So I contentedly sat on the hood of my car and held her in my arms, chuckling once in a while at her song choice.

Soon her beautiful voice lowered, and then she stopped singing altogether. Her breathing slowed and she snuggled into me slightly.

I smiled tenderly, watching how the moon cast a hauntingly lovely glow to her pale skin. Her lips were swollen slightly and parted. I brushed my thumb over her pouty lower lip and kissed the tip of her nose, awed by her beauty.

But I thought about how she was here for a date. I felt my lips pull down into a tight glower, wondering why the hell she needed to do that. If Bella wasn't interested, then I would accept it. However, the lucky bastard to date her would not get a kind look from me. Not one. Or maybe one, just to make Bella happy.

I shook my head from my thoughts and carefully pulled out my cell phone, trying not to jostle Bella. Although I doubted she would be woken up, she was so deep under already.

I dialed the number that I haven't called for weeks.

"This is Dr. Cullen," the voice said on the other line. Carlisle. I smiled.

"Hey, Carlisle," I said. Carlisle and I were very close, it was just that since I met Bella, I hadn't talked to him for weeks. I felt a little guilty and hoped he didn't detect the sheepish tone in my voice.

"Hello, son," Carlisle said, his voice pleased. "How are you these days?"

I cleared my throat, feeling an unfamiliar warmth in my cheeks. I didn't usually blush. "I'm doing fine," I replied. "But I do need your help."

There was a pause. "What do you need?" he asked, concerned.

"Well...." I started, feeling awkward. I never really did fully tell him about Bella. "The girl I mentioned to you once. Bella. She's kind of... knocked out and when she was conscious I noticed her pupils strangely dilated. I know that she was drugged but...." The thought of someone drugging her made me scowl but I kept my voice under control.

"Tell you what. Bring Bella to your house and I'll be right over to check on her," he announced. I thanked him and hung up my phone.

When both Carlisle and I were at my house, I watched as he lay her on my couch and checked her pulse, eyes and a few other spots. I felt a bit stupid, standing there and doing nothing. I mean, was I not training to become a doctor myself? I mentally slapped myself.

But I was only just in the middle of it. I was still cheering at the memory that it was still the end of the semester and I was on break.

I had to have someone professional to check on Bella. I wasn't as experienced as Carlisle was and I wanted Bella to be in the hands of the best.

After I stressed some thoughts to Carlisle about Bella, he reassured me that she was just fine.

"So how are things between the two of you?" Carlisle asked, packing up his gear.

I opened my mouth to respond but Carlisle's pager went off. He checked and looked at me, his face regretful.

"Sorry, son, but duty calls," he said wryly. "I'll call you tomorrow. Your mother would like to speak to you, too." I nodded in understanding, knowing I haven't spoken with my mother either, trying to mask my guilt. I hugged Carlisle and showed him out.

As much as I was infatuated with Bella, that shouldn't have gotten in the way with my relationship with my parents. I made a mental note to make it up to them.

"Shit," I muttered to myself as I thought about the present. Bella was drugged, that was for sure. I knew for a fact that Bella had yet to wake up for quite a few hours, possibly not until the morning.

I felt anger boil in me as I thought about the punk that did this to Bella. Obviously, he meant to bring her home and take advantage of her body when she was unconscious. That is considered rape. From the evidence it seemed as if he wasn't an aggressive guy if he let Bella walk away without trying to grab her and take her into his care when she was weak and so drunk.

Probably a college kid who did it on a regular basis and wasn't used to his victim having enough strength to walk away.

I smiled tightly as I watched Bella chest move up and down with every breath. I was, of course, proud that she had the will to walk away and know what would happen. But I wasn't close to surprised. This was Bella and I knew her to be different.

I filled my cheeks with air and blew out noisily. I glowered at the floor and pressed my lips together, wondering what jackass was still out there, most likely intending on doing this to another helpless girl.

I flickered my gaze over to Bella's dozing form. Her shoes were off but her dress was still on. I stood up and hovered over her, hesitating. Should I change her or not?

I decided not to, not wanting Bella to wake up and feel uncomfortable with me, maybe even angry. Since she might not be interested in me any more, I grudgingly decided to sleep on the couch.

There was no knowing what was going on in that mysterious head of Bella's.

* * *

**A/N: EPOV!! I KNOW!! I'm not that good at his POV so if you don't like it, just let me know and I will continue on only doing Bella's POV. I just thought you guys might like to get a look into his head and past, what he feels about Bella and such. I will still mainly focus on Bella's POV since I'm more comfortable with that, but when you want his POV up I will attempt to do it. And before you guys review and say something about how I wrote something about college and doctor-training or whatever was wrong, don't waste your time! I already know it isn't right, lol. PLEASE REVIEW! Can I coax out at LEAST more than four out of you guys? Come on guys, I used to get like, 12 a chapter. I understand it's because I was on heitus (however you spell that), but hey. Do me a favor. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and remember to check out that story Luminosity! _Review_ my lovelies!**

**xoxo**

**Lucy  
**


	12. New Knowledge

**A/N: Hey fellow fanfictioners! Sorry this took a while to get out. The problem is, real life gets in the way. I would love to sit down and type all day but I just can't find the time. It's almost the end of summer for me and I've been doing a whole bunch of things. AND my brothers bought the game Sims 2 and I've been obsessively playing that with them. It's addicting! I decided to plot, and cut in time to type this up for you. I've been thinking about what to do with this chapter and I really wanted to get it out! OH and I deleted the chapters that had me saying I was stopping the story. So I don't want new comers to think that I don't update very often because really, I usually update regularly. Just when I'm busy, I can't. SO. Glad you enjoyed EPOV! That makes me so happy. This one is only Bella's POV. **

**You all need to know this: some of you guys were a little peeved about Edward thinking Bella didn't want to date him. That was to sprinkle some drama, though not much. And know this: I changed the summery to having Edward have a secret; I came up with it to add drama. This is where Bella will know he is hiding something, something wavering under his facade. It makes me all the more excited to type this now! Enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: Twilight n'est pas le mien! (that's french. Hope I put it together correctly. ;p)**

**

* * *

**Chapter 12  
BPOV

_Strange swirling lights were going around me in a frenzy, confusing me. One big flash of light sent my heart beat into a dash, seemingly trying to jump out of my chest. There was mist everywhere, and through the thick fog, there was a figure, reaching out to me. I shrank back, alert and alarmed because the arm was full of lumps...._

I awoke with a start from the sound of loud crashing. I jerked upright and looked around, searching with my eyes to detect the sound source. But when my gaze fell on the window with open curtains, the sky was full of big dark clouds, covering up the sun. It was pouring buckets and every few minutes, there was another loud crash of thunder.

I glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was 9 in the morning.

But the clock wasn't mine.

I freaked, sitting on my knees and looking around at the unfamiliar place. Where was I? Did Dude catch up to me and bring me to his home?! I had a pounding headache, which became worse from the banging thunder, and my mouth tasted of bile.

I whimpered and held the pillow to my chest, panicking. Where in God's name was I? I searched my mind, trying to remember the night before. But all I could remember was getting drunk and then everything else was just... blank.

I breathed in the pillow and froze.

The first words that came to my mind was: wintry. Sweet. Honey. Lilac. The smell that I had become attuned to, the most soothing and delicious scent in the world.

Edward.

I felt my labored breathing slow down, as did my heart. I was always safe with Edward. He had only brought me to his house and let me sleep here. I felt my heart warm as events from the night before came flooding through my mind. Me being stood up. Me getting drunk. Edward holding me in his arms and bringing me home. A doctor.

But where was Edward now?

I carefully climbed out of the bed, my feet touching hardwood floor. I looked down at myself and saw I was still in the ridiculous short black dress, embarrassed as hell that Edward had seen me in it. I tugged on the hem of the dress and cautiously looked around the room.

It was immaculately clean, startlingly so. Everything was in order, tidy and neat. The only mess was the bed, which I had messed up from my freaking out and sleeping. His dresser had a few pictures on it, of him and his family. I didn't want to invade his space but I peered at them and stepped closer. One of Edward, looking ridiculously handsome with a sassy smirk on his face next to _another_ good-looking man. Pretty much what Edward would look like when he was older, only this man had blonde hair. Next to who I was guessing was his father, there was a gentle looking beautiful woman. The other picture was of just of the woman and man.

I smiled widely, looking again at Edward's picture. I had never seen him fully in a tux, and he looked so delicious, even in a picture. I couldn't believe that he was an ordinary (not really) person and not a male model. I tried to keep myself from drooling a river.

There, against the wall, was a big shelf full of the most CD's I had ever saw except at the music store. I was in awe, but resisted the urge to walk over there and check them out, to see which music he liked.

The rest of the room held a little desk and and a lap top sitting on top of it, along with a bookcase that held books about doctor type things that I did not understand. A pretty small room, but it had taste. I loved the gold comforter on his bed and the carpet.

My eyes couldn't help but stray back to Edward's laptop, which was booted up and idly sitting there. Oh, it was calling to me. It was yelling my name, waving with flashing lights to get my attention.

I wasn't usually a snooper. I didn't like when people went through my stuff, so I didn't go through theirs. I always respected people's privacy, and I respected Edward's, but this one time I would make an exception. Come on - if you were me, wouldn't you do the same thing? Exactly. I made sure to look both ways and pop my head out the door to see if Edward was anywhere near. Nope, not that I heard. There was only the hallway, only giving me site of the front door. I tip toed towards the innocent laptop and tried to keep my labored breathing down. I felt like James Bond, looking both ways and walking like a pro like a spy towards the machine.

Once I reached it, I innocently peeked towards the door. No one was there. I took a deep breath and leaned over the chair and put my hand on the pad, clicking start and wondering what the hell I was looking for. I clicked on a document, but the stupid little pad on the laptop moved all the way to the left because I had tapped my other finger on it.

"Jeez," I muttered under my breath, wishing the thing had a mouse.

Clicking on the document, I felt so embarrassed.

What was I looking for? A note from a blonde bubblegum bimbo, telling him what a great time she had the night before? I knew that Edward would never do something like that but... I didn't _know_ know Edward. I didn't know what he did in his free time. Nor did I know about any past girlfriends. Come to think of it, I didn't know him as much as I really thought I did. I became deeply suspicious there was something special I didn't know about Edward.

I almost rolled my eyes at my suspicion. _Must be some post-drunk symptoms,_ I told myself reasonably.

I clicked the start button again and saw something that looked like it had something to do with email.

Bingo.

I double clicked it and a screen popped it. I glanced at it and almost groaned. Of course. I had to have his email address and password.

"Damn!" I cursed a bit too loud. I snapped my fingers in frustration and randomly typed an email address.

"Find what you needed?" a voice from somewhere behind me, the voice darkly amused. I stiffened and clicked the red x as fast as I could, like it would help. I stood erect and whirled around, only to be looking right at Edward, who was leaning in the door way, one eyebrow cocked and his arms folded. His impossible green eyes were positively sparkling.

Blood rushed up to my face and burned the tips of my ears, blushing 70 shades of red. My heart beat picked up at the site of him, and because he caught me. I started to pants and I bit my lip, a pained expression on my face.

_Aw, Christ. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,_ I chanted internally.

"W-what?" I asked innocently, though I very nearly burst into tears I was so damn embarrassed. I put my hands behind my back and crossed my fingers, batting my eyelashes at him, trying to distract him.

He laughed very, very hard. I frowned at him, though I was tempted to join in; his laughter was so appealing. I clenched my teeth and stared at the ground, still blushing.

"May I inquire why you were doing?" he queried once he got over his laughing fit. I opened my mouth to respond, but his frown cut me off. "Don't think to lie, Bella."

I kept my mouth closed, knowing I could _not_ lie to him and I didn't want to tell him what I was doing. I felt a tear slip down my cheek, shame flooding through me at once. What was I doing? Was I really that suspicious of Edward? I sniffled.

In that instance, I felt Edward in front of me. I turned around and away from him, not wanting him to see my face, I was so ashamed. And embarrassed. I heard him sigh a little and I wiped away the tears on my cheeks, not wanting to upset him any further.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I felt rather than heard him sigh again against my neck while his arms wrapped around my waist. His chin rested on my shoulder and he kissed my neck.

"I'm not angry, Bella," he murmured against my jugular. "I'm just a little miffed at myself that I could give you a reason to be... suspicious?"

He was pretty much asking if I was snooping. Which I was.

I raised my hand and put it in his soft copper hair, playing with it. "No," I said firmly, "there is no reason for me to be suspicious." I turned around and tried not to wince as the thunder banged again, causing my head ache to act up once again.

However, Edward noticed it. Who was I to try and hide things from him? I wasn't sure. But he was pretty darn observant. A dent between his eyebrows formed as he frowned in concern. He picked up my hand and lightly kissed my knuckles, raising his perfect eyebrows.

"Do you want some painkillers?" he asked me softly, now playing with my fingers. I blushed at the rapt attention I was receiving from him and nodded.

"And I think I'd like to shower," I started, looking down at the stupid dress. "Maybe a change of clothes?" I didn't want to be naggy and persistent for his things, but I was dying for a hot shower, to sooth my muscles and maybe clear my hurting head.

Edward grinned slyly and leered at me. "Mmm, yes, if you stay in that dress any longer, I'm not sure I could resist you," he purred, his voice pure seduction. I blushed a thousands shades of red, my eyes instantly averting towards the golden carpet. My knees felt weak and I was quickly becoming used to the moist-ness dripping to my panties. _Every_ damn time I was with him, this happened to me.... Lord, the man had powers.

I refused to comment back, not sure what to say. I tried to keep the crazy smile from my face as I glanced back up into his suggestive eyes, sure he was teasing.

"So," he continued,"I have some smaller clothes I could let you wear." He turned towards his dresser, giving me a sideways glance. "Would you be ok with that?"

My eyes widened and I nodded. "Yes, of course," I said, managing a weak smile.

As he reached the dresser, he paused. He turned around and looked at me, pursing his lips. "Unless... you'd like to go home?" he asked, quirking a brow.

I frowned, remembering that I did not tell Alice nor Rosalie that I was with Edward. They were sure to be anxious and freaking out, blowing up my phone. I remembered I turned it off the night before, which was sure to make Alice angry. I managed a grim smile.

But I glanced outside and saw that it was still raining cats and dogs; there was no way I was going out there. The sky was angry and the big burly clouds were a little threatening at the moment. To confirm my fears, a big bang of thunder caused me to wince.

"No!" I shouted, cringed away from the window. It was already loud enough inside the house, and plus I wasn't in the mood for Alice. I trotted over to Edward and grabbed his hand unconsciously as another crack of thunder literally shook the apartment. I yelped and whimpered, biting my lip. My head felt like it was in a permanent brain freeze from too much ice cream, and I was kind of afraid of thunder.

Edward chuckled, watching me. I flickered my gaze up to him, not wanting to tear my eyes away from the vicious weather outside; the trees were threatening to blow over and through the window. However, one glance at his face and I forgot about everything. Did I ever mention how beautiful he was? How his eyes alone seemed to melt my heart and his smile made my knees weak? He seemed to be chiseled from marble he was so perfect. Adonis would be jealous.

He flashed me his smoldering lopsided smile, squeezed my hand and gave me a peck on the lips. He turned away, leaving me shocked. Literally.

"I _did_ invite you over the other day, didn't I?"

It was the most curious sensation, when Edward kissed me. And it did not matter if it was a full on make out kiss or just a small peck, a shock current ran through my hands and arms, straight to my heart. My heart pounded and I flushed pink.

Edward faced me and handed me a t shirt and shorts, both of which were too big for me. I sized up Edward and nodded in appreciation; he was about 6 feet tall, whereas I was only 5'4. He was toned and had muscle, whereas I had absolutely not one ounce of muscle on my body. I grinned easily at him and grabbed the clothes and turned to walk towards the bathroom.

"Thank you," I said sincerely to him before I closed the door.

"There's an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet," was his answer. There was a weird tone to his voice, though I couldn't put my finger on it. I blew him a kiss and giggled, carefully closing the door and took a deep breath. What was with the clipped tone? Did he think I was going to trifle through his....

Oh, fuck.

I blushed like crazy and realized why his tone was a little sour. Most likely, it was because he guessed I would look through his cabinet, searching for drugs or something. There came a price for snooping on his laptop.

I grumbled to myself as I climbed into the hot shower. There should be an island named after me, called Fuck Up Island or something. Now he would think that I didn't trust him. It wasn't that I _didn't_ trust him, it was more that I didn't nearly know as much about him as I thought I did. Who knew, there might be some old girlfriend stalking, just as I had Mike doing to me.

I bit back a grim chuckle, realizing I hadn't seen Mike in days. I hoped it was because he got over me; he should know that he was wasting his time. He could be the last man on earth and I wouldn't date him.

Finished with my shower, I clambered out and put my hair in a towel, noting how his bathroom was also very clean. That was another thing we had in common. I couldn't really stand a huge mess, and when I was sad or bored, I resulted in cleaning the entire house. One time I was so upset Alice and Rosalie were on yet another date and I didn't have one, I became alliances with Shout for getting stains out of clothes and Clorox. I had cleaned every corner, every _nook and cranny _the house had. I ironed all clothes and hung up Rose and Alice's clothes in the closet while I had folded mine for my dresser. I giggled, remembering how I ordered them from most comfortable to least comfortable clothes.

I almost pulled on my shirt when I realized I didn't put on my bra. I frowned and picked up my dress, shaking it to see if I had even _worn _a bra the night before. I frowned even more deeply when I didn't find it, throwing things around. _Jesus, I'll stop saying Alice is evil if you help me find it,_ I prayed silently. If I went out there without a bra, I would be mortified and permanently red.

After a couple of Hail Mary's, I found it tangled up in the shorts. _Thank you Lord_, I cheered, clipping it on and throwing the shirt on.

I almost barked out a laughter of irony when I realized I also had no new underwear. I didn't want to wear the ones from the night before because that was just downright wrong.** (People, if you think that is stupid, then oh well.. lol... I have a phobia of wearing the same undies two days in a row... that's disgusting. --shudders--)**

I sucked in a deep breath and set my jaw, stepping into the shorts, completely commando. But hey- it was a while since I lived a little. Alice and Rosalie did it all the time. **(laughs)**

I shook my hair out of my towel, got the extra tooth brush --- resisting the urge to trifle through the cabinet the whole time-- and rolled my panties up into my dress. I sighed contentedly at the blue clouds it sported. I always told Alice and Rosalie that if they were to force me into wearing lingerie, it would be boyshorts with my choice of design. I smiled smugly; they were, yes, boyshort panties, but they had blue clouds all over them. We all had a little fun inside of us.

I opened the door a little, poking my head out to see if Edward was there. Nope. Coast was clear. I needed to find my purse in order to get rid of the stupid dress and used-panties. I tipped toed out and stood with my back against the wall, feeling like James Bond once again. I did not know my way around Edward's apartment so I actually had no idea where I was going. It wouldn't be too hard, though, because it wasn't a huge house; just an apartment.

I heard the TV, so I quickly straightened out of my sneaking position. No way was Edward going to catch me again sneaking around. I only wanted to find my purse this time, though. I walked calmly into what was the living room. It too, had taste. Edward was sitting on the sofa, paying rapt attention to the news. It was so cute; he was leaning forward and held the expression of complete concentration.

I looked down at my toes; the pink nail polish was chipped. I wiggled them and walked into his line of view. He glanced up at me and gave a wits-scramblingly beautiful smile. My knees threatened to give in so I stood rooted in spot.

I gave him a small smile in return. I opened my mouth to ask him where my purse was, but he cut me off. "There's a glass of water and Tylenol in the kitchen on the counter," he said. "And your purse is in there." He said it as if he could read my mind. Oh Jesus Christ, that would be embarrassing if he could read my mind.

I smiled quickly and darted into the kitchen.

There, just like he said, was a glass of water and two little pills. He must have read on my face that I was still in pain. However it was nothing that I couldn't handle; I just had a little suspicion that I didn't know everything about Edward like I wanted.

Popping the pills in my mouth and chugging the water, I stuffed my dress with my panties rolled into it inside my over sized purse. There were days when I could kiss Alice; this was the day.

I pranced back over to Edward, plopping down next to him on the couch and grinning easily. I was one determined woman, and I would find out enough about Edward.

"Hey, Edward?" I asked him. He turned his beautiful head towards mine and raised an eyebrow at my exuberance; you'd think I'd be sluggish and crabby.

"Yes?"

"What's your favorite color?"

He threw his head back and laughed so delightfully that I joined in. It tickled me, from my head down to my toes.

"Green," he replied, his eyes alight with amusement. "Why?"

I shrugged innocently and looked at the TV screen. "Just because."

I now saw what made Edward pay so much attention to the news. They were telling about the damage the storm would do, the reporter advising us to stay inside and that there was a chance the power would go out.

I crossed my legs Indian style and turned towards Edward. I decided to go in for the kill; this question was bothering the hell out of me.

"How many girlfriend's have you had?" I blurted, but then slapped my hand over my mouth. I meant to do it more subtly.

Edward turned his head towards mine, positively amused. "Enough," he said, though his eyes were hooded. I became instantly suspicious and alert.

"What does 'enough' mean?" I asked sweetly.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "It's not a huge matter, Bella. I'm not going to lie and say I'm the most innocent person, so I'm going to say that I have had... some girlfriends back in the day," he said just as sweetly. But his voice was more like melting honey while mine pretty much sounded a little reedy when I used that tone.

I knew I shouldn't challenge Edward for looking angelic, because let's face it, he would beat an angel at that, but I couldn't help it. I smiled slyly and batted my eyelashes.

"Give me an estimate," I purred as best I could, lightly touching his palm and biting my lip. I peeked up at Edward to see if it was working. His face faltered for a minute, but he composed himself.

He smiled enchantingly, showing his pearly whites and making me shake. "An estimate? I'd rather not at the moment," he replied, his voice strumming and ringing with finality all the while stroking my senses alluringly. God, how did he do it?

I tried not to squint, he was so dazzling. Oh hell, I wanted an answer so I would do something I would never do if this weren't a dire need.

I pouted, making sure to poke out my lips just enough because he told me himself he loved when I pouted. I looked up at him from under my lashes and smiled flirtatiously, I hoped.

"Please?" I breathed, clutching his hand. "Please will you tell me?" **(Anyone see the connection to Eclipse? Yeppers. Oh, and I know that they sort of went through this when Bella was babysitting but I need to refresh your minds.)**

He glared for a second, but I noticed smugly that his eyes kept slipping down to my lips. I touched his cheek and widened my eyes as angelically as I could. He huffed, his sweet breath fanning my face; I almost slipped from my act and leaned in to smell, though I held my ground. I almost cheered out loud when I saw his shoulders slump.

"I can't really remember," he admitted, frowning. "I haven't had too many girlfriends recently since I've been busy with school but... I was adolescent when I was in high school."

"And?" I prompted.

He grimaced, his nose wrinkling. "Let's just say I didn't respect women like I do now," he said flatly. I nodded, subdued, remembering he had said a little about this when I was babysitting Sophie.

"Didn't I tell you about this before?" he asked, as if reading my mind. I nodded slowly, a grin playing against my lips.

"You player," I accused not unkindly, but only teasing. He rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed.

"You probably hooked up with the whole female student body, didn't you?" I continued. Though I was only teasing, this was most likely true. "I bet they lined up and asked you to take them. _'Oh, Edward, you are so dreamy. Take my innocence!'_" I giggled and did a pretend swoon. Well, I hoped it looked pretend because I actually was swooning. I imagined myself waiting in that line.

Edward was not laughing but scowling. "I did not have sex with any of them," he said defensively. I got the jitters at the word 'sex'. I was becoming obsessed with that lately.

"Oh please," I scoffed. "I would have thought you lost your virginity in kindergarten."

Edward's face instantly hardened, from playful to genuine anger. "Never say that," he snapped, his eyes hooded. I widened my eyes, taken aback by the cold lines on his face. He looked so different; beautiful, yes, but cruel. His voice was like a slap in the face.

"Why not?" I asked quietly after a few seconds. His face was like stone, his eyes guarded and so unfriendly I cringed. His usual sparkling green eyes were just... flat.

"Because," he said, his voice final.

I almost tried to flirt my way into whatever made him act like it, but his jaw was set. He wouldn't be changing his mind anytime soon, it seemed. "Is there something I should know?" I asked, worried.

"No," he said, definiteness coloring his tone. He never met my eyes, and if I was seeing right, he looked a little sad.

"So there's nothing wrong," I deduced, though I did not believe it from his reaction. I was a little scared of this side of Edward, so I tried to discreetly scoot away from him.

Edward looked at me at once, his eyes confused. But then he saw the look on my face, and shame flooded his then-hooded eyes. He scooted closer to me and put his arm around me.

"I'm sorry Bella," he crooned, his voice back to normal. The same silky, honey smooth-ness I was used to. "I didn't mean to scare you."

His voice was so enticing and pouring with apology that I almost forgot about it. I looked into his eyes; they were warm and condoling. I looked at his pale face and decided to not press the issue. If I had to investigate later, I would. But I didn't want to bother Edward, not at the moment, and I did not believe one bit that there was nothing wrong.

Turns out there was things I didn't know about him.

I would worry about it later, because it was hard to think with his face so close to mine. His breath caressed my cheeks and filled my nostrils, making me go crazy from the unique quality of the scent. I turned my head up and stared into his eyes, filled with complete and utter lust.

Looking into his eyes, I saw the feeling was mutual.

* * *

**A/N: OK people. There's your chapter for you. It's shorter than other chapters because I wanted to get it out to you guys. I hope I'll be able to update soon because with Edward's secret now confirmed, I have a lot to do! And I also know the conclusion you guys will come to with the little hint about the secret; just know that it will not be totally what you think it will be. Don't assume, people.... Lol. I'm still waiting on Chelsey to do the first part of the chapter for the story we are doing together, that's why there has been no update for that. And please excuse any mistakes and if it's a little rusty; there would be more fancy lingo, but I wrote this all in once sitting since I wanted to get this out to you guys. Remember to review. Please! I live for your thoughts, and I'd like to know what you think about this knew little sprinkle of knowledge! Suggestions are welcome. REVIEW my lovely readers! You are loved! =] I'll update soon, I hope.**

**xoxo**

**Lucy  
**


	13. AN:School has started!

**A/N: Just so you know, I erased all the chapters with Author's notes because lately I seem to be doing that... a lot. Sorry :]**

**Ok... so I know I have been always telling you I will stop with the A/N's and just update, but lately I haven't been updating because I just started school on Monday, and life's been a bitch. It's hard for me to get up at _5 o-goddamn-clock _in the morning! On top of that they are acting like we need to get started on work already, so I have a load of homework and then I have to get to bed by 9 p.m. I can't find time to sit down and let my imagination run wild. **

**So, hopefully later on next week or so, things will get settled and I will find time to type up this story for you guys. :]**

**I will post this on my other story, too! Thank you _so_ much if you are one of the few who are staying with me. You are so loved by me! Kisses, kisses, kisses, and hugs! =]**

**xoxo**

**Lucy**


	14. The Next Step

**A/N: Hello my darlings! Sorry this took a bit to get out. Hey, did you know I'm reading Dracula by Bram Stoker? It's amazing so far! And then, since I hear a lot about it, I'm going to read The Phantom of the Opera. Why don't I just watch the movie instead of reading it, you ask? Because I always prefer reading over watching a movie any day!**

**A quick thanks to c. a. a. for leaving me so many cute reviews. Thank you so much, angel. And to those of you who reviewed my other story! You are all dolls.**

**Some of you guys are a bit "Why the hell do Rosalie and Alice want Bella to date other people?!" Well, my friends, it's because Rose and Alice aren't voting for Bella's heartbreak. They know Edward's a good guy, but from experience, they know to keep options. An open book. So if Edward were to, say, die or break up with Bella, Bella would have other options. Rose and Alice are only trying to do what's best for Bella, though Bella is a bit too stubborn to see it.**

**First, I'm going to let Edward and Bella have a little fun, starting this chapter where the last one left off.... *cackles gleefully* Oh, and the whole issue with Edward-thinking-Bella-doesn't-want-to-go-out-with-him will be solved in this chap.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, however I'm making the characters do weird things. The creepy thing? This fanfiction thing is illegal in 27 states! (I got that from sch. 94's Authors Note. Crazy, eh?)**

* * *

Chapter 13

Edward's lips pressed against my hesitantly, so tentatively and less confident than usual. Annoyed, I met his lips more forcefully. I kissed him with exuberance, but I was disappointed to find that I wasn't getting anything out of Edward.

Ok. So maybe I was acting a little slutty. But an urge (maybe a ho-ish urge) caused my hands to slide down his chest and to his stomach, which caused Edward to jump a little and pull away.

Feeling rejected, I looked into his eyes, searching. He met my gaze evenly though his beautiful eyes did not give anything away.

Ah, poker face. Damn you.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, my voice papery thin. "Is it because of before?"

Edward's perfectly composed face still gave no sign of emotion. He looked polite. And oh Jesus, I wanted to kiss him.

"No, Bella," he said in the most perfect, suavest of tones.

He just looked so perfect and untouchable that it hurt my heart. He was sitting there, in all his perfect cheekbones, strong jaw, straight nose, smooth forehead, gorgeous eyes, full lips glory. His hair was perfectly tousled that I could swear it could be considered sex hair.

Again, there was nothing more that I wanted to do then jump on him and kiss him. He was an incarnation of an angel and it wasn't only because of his smoldering looks that I wanted to kiss him, it was because it was Edward. And his poker face was making me a little wild, believe it or not. Cutely enough, he continued to stare at me and blink.

But why? One minute we are in the moment and next he has his poker face on. I didn't really know what to do. God, I must have looked like a crazy person. My hair being damp with a too big shirt and too big shorts, which I rolled up a little, with no underwear. And I'll bet I looked like I wanted to kiss him so much. _Yes, send me to an insane asylum, just as long as I get to kiss my Edward, do whatever you want! _I bit back a giggle.

I shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his perfectly composed stare. "Sooo..." I said awkwardly. "Then what is it?"

He didn't even blink. "Because this wouldn't be right," he said, his voice so musical and inviting. He gave me a heart-stopping smile that I'll bet he would use to seduce women, if he were that type of person.

I felt my heart beat stutter and a flush creep up my neck but I looked into his eyes. And you know what I felt like? I felt like a mouse being played with by a cat. Not the best feeling in the world.

His emerald eyes weren't sparkling as usual, but they weren't flat and empty. Just carefully guarded. See, things like this arouse my suspicion (and other things). **(*laughs*)**

"Then what is it?" I asked, though my voice was squeaky and not very strong. I sounded like the mouse, most definitely.

He blinked and his perfect lips pulled up into a cynical smile. My stomach flopped. "I was rather under the impression that you had a date last night," he said, his tone rather chiding and a trifle sarcastic.

I widened my eyes and jerked back. I was on a date last, wasn't I? Ah, hell. Of course Edward would know about that, since I was guessing Alice called Edward to come and pick me up. And my other lucky guess was that she told Edward I had been stood up.

Now didn't that just make me seem so invigorating and likable? My date stands me up, I get drugged and sleep at Edwards house.

The latter was the only good part.

I blushed and looked Edward straight in his emotionless eyes. Oh, those beautiful emeralds. "Yeah, about that--" I started lamely, but Edward cut me off.

"You don't have to explain, Bella. If you wanted to see other people, all you had to do was tell me." He was definitely chiding now. However his perfect face sent down from above still looked perfectly polite.

I frowned and clasped his hand. "Edward," I said, though he tried to cut me off again. This time I didn't allow it. "Listen!" I took a deep breath and let it all out in one breath. "Alice and Rose were trying to force me to date other people so I would have other options, but I was going to call you to meet me there instead of the date, however I was too depressed and then I got drugged and here we are." I inhaled, seeing as I said that all in one breath.

Edward paused, seeming to think about something. His beautiful eyes were boring into mine, his angel's face cracking and finally showing some emotions.

The next thing I knew, his lips were hungrily on mine, kissing me in a way that should be illegal. Thank you Jesus. I owe you one! Edward moved his soft lips down to my neck so that I could catch my breath, but they felt so good that I moaned. I felt him smile against my neck and I let my head fall back, tangling my hands in his soft hair.

He brought his lips back to mine, his tongue snaking into my mouth. Ah, he was delicious. How to describe it? There really was no way. Not until the day you taste his sweet mouth, his sweet breath mingling with yours. There will never be a day you will know. Unless you do what I was doing, but I wouldn't allow it. Let's just put it like this: it's as if he's constantly eating a tic-tac.

Edward broke away from me and stared into my eyes. His eyes were dark with lust and when he saw my expression, his sensual lips curled into a slow sexy smile. He stood up and quickly picked me up along with him, positioning me so that my legs were wrapped around his waist. I curled my arms around his neck and crashed my lips to his, kissing him for all that I was worth. And I couldn't help but notice the spark that was there. Him and I... it was like we were _supposed_ to do this! I swear it was. Edward lead us into his room, and once we were in there, he dropped me onto the bed.

"Oof," I grunted, though I caught my breath as Edward in all his sexy glory crawled over and on top of me. I held my breath, as he was hovering on top of me. Not completely pressed against me, but brushing up against me in a sensual way. I realized, all too late, that I was growing wet and I was commando!

Shit.

Edward didn't waste any time, as he held my hands hostage and started to kiss all around my neck, the edge of my jaw, every where. The wetness between my legs felt weird with no where to land, so I started to squeeze my legs close when Edward stopped the movement with one of his hands. He kept them slightly parted as he kissed me in earnest. He let my hands go, and they went straight to his soft hair.

My hands started to travel down, and that ho-ish urge washed over me and I slipped my hands under his shirt. His washboard abs were so _lean_ and so _hard_... good lord. I went wild with lust and kissed his neck, licking the spot and biting it slightly. Edward groaned very lightly, via me. I grinned smugly.

This time Edward's hands started to wander. He smirked against my mouth as his very capable hands slipped under my shirt, brushing over my naval and right into the valley of my cleavage. I gasped against his mouth and moaned as his fingers brushed over my breasts, over and over again. I moaned much louder and almost forced his hands to go under my bra, but he withdrew his hand.

"Jesus, Edward," I breathed.

Nuzzling my neck, his hands slowly drifted downward, until they were at the hem of my shirt. He toyed with that spot for a little, until his fingers grazed the waistband of my shorts. I squeezed my eyes shut, not even about to stop him.

A) I was very horny.

B) Wasn't it about time we took this step?

My breath growing even more ragged than it was before and my heart pumping _too_ fast, Edward slipped his hand through my pants. I squealed and kept my hands twisted into his hair, vaguely aware that I was probably hurting him. He looked deep into my eyes before capturing my lips with his, his fingers grazing my clit every few seconds.

My core throbbed and I felt a rush of wetness down there.

"Edward."

It was a warning, really. It was supposed to be. But my voice was just too breathy and husky to sound warning. Edward pulled his head away from mine and looked down at me, smirking. He knew he had the upper hand in this situation. He just looked too gorgeous for his own good, his eyes cocky yet adoring at the same time, a sweet smirk on his lips. I threw my head back in frustration and lifted my hips, trying to get some friction.

He ducked his head back down to my neck while his fingers lazily rubbed my clit. I moaned. He pinched me lightly and moved his fingers downward, his fingers hovering dangerously close to my entrance.

How weird was this? The first guy to do this to me! I felt crazily embarrassed but the throb I had down there overshadowed everything else. I breathed loudly and tried to whine to him, but I couldn't find my voice. His fingers slowly rubbed up and down, avoiding going inside me, teasing me.

I arched my back and groaned. His fingers were magic. But I couldn't take it any more by the time his fingers drifted past my entrance the last time.

"Edward, please, please," I moaned, my back still arched. He had his arm around me, holding me up and against him. Other than that, I was pretty much limp.

"Edward please, what?" he said, his voice deep and sensual.

I took a few steadying breaths, but his fingers were so distracting! I took another gulp of air and tried, "Just get your fingers inside me."

I felt his chuckle vibrate through my body, awakening every fiber of my being. All of my lust fibers were awake, of course, but they put them in a frenzy. _He's laughing! He's happy! We're doing something good!_ my body said. I put a leash on my thoughts and concentrated on the feeling his fingers were giving me.

Edward nuzzled my jugular and brought his lips to my ear, his fingers pinching my clit, causing me to moan very loudly. "Not until you scream my name," he whispered, his voice ridiculously sexy and arousing. His breath tickled my ear and another flow of wetness poured out of me. He felt it, and rubbed me more forcefully.

"Edward," I rasped, lifting my hips and forcing my va-gay-gay into his hands. **(I don't like the word "pussy"... I mean... awkward...)**

He nudged me and brought a finger to my entrance. "Louder," his husky voice commanded me.

"_Edward_," I moaned louder. It helped that his fingers were rubbing me in an X-rated way.

"Louder."

"Edward!" I yelled, my head thrown back, still trying to get those fingers inside me. Edward sighed a seducing sigh and pushed in two fingers, curling them deep into me.

"_Louder_." His voice rang with lust and finality, and his fingers were finally in me, so I felt my pleasure overcome me.

"EDWARD!"

He pushed in one more finger, slowly pumping them. I sighed in content, though the sigh formed into another moan as his fingers curled and uncurled, all around. He pumped and kissed me passionately on the mouth.

I became dizzy with the sensation and became drunk with ecstasy. I felt myself being thrown over an edge, over a cliff that I did not know existed. My pleasure raised to a peek, and with one last finger curl, my eyes closed automatically and I was lost into a pleasure that I never new of.

* * *

"Bella! There you are!" Alice shouted as soon as the door closed. I peeked out the window and saw that Edward was already gone. I felt a dreamy smile curl my lips up, and I ignored Alice. I pushed past her and started to hum, ridiculously happy and full of affection.

I mean, just because of what happened didn't mean I liked Edward a lot more because I knew what he could do with his fingers. No. But that made our relationship status hit the roof, and I felt even more adoration for Edward than before. I mean, he was always there for me, and I had a feeling he always would be.

"Bella?" Alice asked from behind me, her voice annoyingly hurt.

But I wasn't about to let that get in the way of my happy mood. "What is it, dear?" I sang, turning around to face her.

Her face became suspicious at my good mood, but she said, "You never called back. I didn't know what happened to you."

I smiled, still so freaking happy. "I was with Edward," I said shyly, looking away.

"Did you have sex with him?" she demanded, right into my face. Startled, I quickly looked at her.

"NO!" I yelled. But then I blushed and looked away again.

She gasped.

"OH. MY. GOD."

"No, not sex!" I said defensively. "Not exactly that."

She stared at me, looking like such a super model. She turned her tiny body and shouted up the stairs. "ROSALIE!" she yelled. "BELLA HAS SOME GOSSIP TO TELL US! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

I couldn't keep the grin playing on my lips as I thought once again about the time I had with Edward. He had told me that he was going to see his mother and father, so he was going to be busy. I smiled, remembering the way he looked at me. Not once had I known anyone to stare at me in such a way that it actually made me embarrassed. It made me wonder; did he feel the same way about me that I did him?

Rosalie walked gracefully down the stairs. Her otherworldly beautiful face looked haughty and she glanced between the two of us. "Bella," she said dryly and gave me a quick hug. "Alice has been going crazy. What is it that happened?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but Alice beat me to it. "Bella did something related to sex! I just know it!" she yelled, jumping up and down in her excitement. Her eyes shined as she stared at me.

"Why are you so excited for me about this?" I asked her, seeing the way she couldn't stand still. She just shrugged and threw her arms around me.

"Because you are practically my sister and this is big!" she yelled into my stomach since she was so short. I laughed and wrapped my arms around her, kissing her spiky hair.

"I love you too," I giggled. Then I pulled away and eye the two of them. "Lucky for you two, I kind of want to talk about it, so..."

They both squealed and pulled me to the couch.

* * *

**A/N: Short ass chapter? Yes. But I wanted this out! And that little lemonish thing was embarrassing to write. I thought, that since I read kind of a lot of lemony stories, it would be comfortable for me to maturely write that stuff, but I just CAN'T. It's going to be embarrassing to have you guys read that half-ass junk. So don't flame it! I don't really know what I was writing about! BUT! LISTEN: IF YOU ARE WILLING TO WRITE LEMONS FOR ME, TELL ME! Because I kinda have some lemons planned for this story and as you read, I CAN'T write lemons... lol... If that was awkward to read, I'm sorry. Lol. Sorry you had to suffer. BUT PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO WRITE LEMONS FOR ME! Thank you! And again, the last part was REALLY rushed, because I can't seem to have time to just write and let EVERYTHING I want down to be down. I promise, too, that there will be NO MORE A/N chapters! And I promise, even if it might take me forever to get out, I will finally type a chapter that I used to type! A long un-rushed one! Just please review and let me know I still have people with me! REVIEW! Thanks so much!**

**xoxo**

**Lucy**


	15. My Life Would Suck Without You

**A/N: Hola! I'm still iffy about lemony stuff but uhh.. all it takes is some practice! Thanks for not bitching at me. It helps a bunch. And this chapter, I thought that everyone deserved some bonding time! We haven't had some fluff/friendship in a while. But be warned, this isn't pure fluff...**

**Well... all I can say is that this a pretty darn long chapter! It might have taken me forever to get out to you beautiful dear readers, but I hope it's worth it! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine, though I did find a five dollar bill inside the pages of it. *Grins* Steph is sending me a message! It must be! hee hee**

**Song: My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson**

**"'Cause we belong together now, yeah  
Forever united here somehow, yeah  
You got a piece of me  
And honestly,  
My life would suck without you"**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 15

I grinned lazily at my two friends who were staring at me as if I transformed from Virgin Mary to some sex vixen.

In a way, that was true, though I didn't have sex yet. However this was a big step from the comfort zone that I was usually stuck in. I stretched my arms out and wiggled my toes, raising my eyebrows.

"So how are things with you and Emmett, Rose?" I asked her, and watched as her face dropped slightly.

"I haven't seen him in a while," she admitted and made a face. But it seemed like she was hiding something.

"What about you, Alice?"

She made a face as well. "There never seems to be a time to get together," she said sourly.

We sat there and stared at each other. I mean, in my opinion, they were being a bit dramatic. I really liked Edward and found any time I could with him, constantly calling him and (in my head) having conversations with him. Finding out whenever he was free and such. Seriously, if these two really liked those boys, they would up to their asses with ways to figure out when to see them.

Ok. Maybe that was called stalking. In that case, I would be considered a stalker... but I never stalked Edward! I just contemplated ways to see him and 'bump' into him. It wasn't my fault I had a crafty mind.

"So," Rose started, changing the subject subtly. "Yesterday I was called a 'raging cunt'."

I burst into surprised giggles, popping a Dorito in my mouth. "What the hell?" I manged, still giggling.

"Where?" Alice piped up, laughing.

"Some dick at the grocery store got mad that that I cut in front of him in line. So I told him to get the fuck over it and stop crying," she said, very blase. "Then he called me a raging cunt and stormed away." She paused and shrugged, munching on a carrot. "It's not my fault he can't take a little aggression."

Alice and I had to hold on to each other we were laughing so hard. "_A LITTLE aggression?!_" we asked between our gails of laughter. She just haughtily rolled her eyes, looking like such a beauty queen. She flipped her 24-carat hair and started to laugh a little too.

"Bella, get the fuck off me!" Alice yelled playfully after we finished laughing. "You are like, 200 pounds. God."

I rolled my eyes. We both knew perfectly well I was only 115 pounds, and didn't look any fatter than that. She liked to joke that people were fat just because she was really tiny. I punched her playfully in the ribs, which she dodged neatly. Rosalie grabbed a handful of chips and crunched them in her hand, closing her fist, and then throwing them at us.

"Two children," she muttered and rolled her eyes. Since we were sitting in a little circle on the hardwood floor with a bunch of junk food (and some carrots for Rose) in the middle, it made it easy for me to pick up some dip and dump it down her low cut top. Her beautiful eyes widened and she playfully growled. She grabbed some cookies and broke them over my head.

"Hey, I want to play," Alice whined and grabbed some ice cream. She rubbed it into both Rose and my face, and getting in some strands of hair. Alice smirked evilly since she had nothing on her, but Rosalie and I exchanged looks, lunging for the whipped cream cans and sprayed it all over her.

She shrieked and threw fudge at us, until pretty soon we were all covered in candy, chocolate, chips, whipped cream; everything. My hair was plastered to my face with chocolate fudge.

"Shit, now I'm going to have to scrub out Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate out of my ass," Alice said after we calmed down. Rosalie nodded, grinning like no tomorrow.

"You know, you guys are lucky these aren't my expensive clothes," Alice continued, pretending to glare at us though a smile still touched her perfect lips. I raised my eyebrows and my eyes bugged out.

"That shirt costs one hundred bucks!" I all but shrieked. "How is that not expensive?!"

She merely laughed with Rosalie as if I were some naive little girl. I glared.

Rosalie looked down at herself and made a face. "This is sticking to me," she said dryly, looking at her shirt, and, giving us evil smiles, she up and took off her shirt. Luckily she was wearing a camisole under it, but still. Jeesh.

Alice cackled and followed suit. "Don't want to be tarred-and-feathered with chocolate!" she chided and threw off her once-pink shirt, only she had just a bra on.

"Is this some type of lesbian convention that I didn't know about?" I asked, a little panicked. I don't know why I was embarrassed because, really, these were my best friends.

"Silly Bella," Alice giggled.

I looked at the two of them, grinning and very happy, and decided, _What the hell_. I took of my shirt and laughed.

"OW, OW!" Alice and Rose whooped while we burst into laughter for no reason at all. I picked up a surviving gummy bear and popped it in my mouth, grinning at my two best friends.

--

How we ended up going to Walmart, I don't know, but we were dressed lazily in leggings, over sized sweaters and uggs boots. We each had hopped into our showers and threw our wet hair into sloppy buns. Often, we had fun playing around in Walmart because sometimes it seemed like they had everything.

"Is this a sex toy?" Alice asked aimlessly, picking up a long, thick looking thing. I rolled my eyes and looked both ways to make sure no one was looking.

"That's for cleaning the kitchen, dummy," I said and snatched it from her hands. "Don't get any ideas."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. Rosalie picked up an electric men's razor. "Sometimes I don't have time to go waxing, and women razors suck, so might as well get this." She tossed it into the cart. We tended to get a whole bunch of things we didn't even need, courtesy of Alice and Rose's money, so we had a bunch of junk I knew we didn't need in our overfilled cart.

We browsed through a couple of other aisles, picking up things and making a joke about it once in a while, until we got to the condom aisle.

"Ooh, we better get _Fruity Sensations_ for Bella," Alice cackled and picked up the little box, looking at the back of it.

"Put that back," I hissed and smacked it out of her hand, blushing furiously.

"Come on, Bella, we all know you're going to have sex soon," Rosalie commented and picked it back up, Alice and her head's together, looking at all the 'sensations' it described on the back of the box. I quickly looked both ways to make sure no one was looking because this was humiliating.

"Stop that," I insisted. "I'm not going to have sex soon."

Actually, I didn't even know. I knew I wasn't just going to automatically have sex with Edward when I saw him because I had always meant my first time to be special. No matter how good he always looked, I was refrain myself. Plus, even if we did, wouldn't _Edward_ have the condoms? The thought put butterflies in my stomach.

"Some day--" Alice started, but a voice behind me cut her off.

"Bella?"

At first I froze, worried it would be Edward or something, because let's face it, he always caught me in embarrassing moments.

But when I turned around, I looked into the eyes of pretty blue eyes.

"Mike," I exclaimed, but once I got over the shock, I cringed away, squeezing my eyes shut.

To my surprise, when I reopened my eyes, he didn't have that creepy fetish look in his eyes. He looked... sane. He looked at me as if we were old best friends bumping into each other after several years.

"Hey Bella," he said a bit sheepishly. "I saw you... I just thought I'd say hi."

"Well, hi," I said quickly, about to duck behind Alice and Rosalie when I saw a short girl with crazy curly hair step out from behind him. She was kind of pretty, but she was looking adoringly at Mike, hanging on to his arm. She looked so familiar....

"Hey!" I yelled, looking at the curly haired girl. "I saw you at Victoria's Secret one time!"

She glanced and me and recognition colored her face. She looked back up at Mike and saw him still staring at me, though I couldn't see what was so wonderful about me. I had no make up on and a sloppy bun.

"Yeah..." she said sourly, shooting me a glare. I was taken aback. Did I not stand up for her from that evil girl, and I didn't even know her?

But then again, Mike_ was_ still staring at me.

Mike cleared his throat and his cheeks turned pink, his eyes darting back to the girl next to him in a forced way.

"Jessica, honey, this is Bella... an old friend," he said hurriedly. "Bella, this is Jessica, my... girlfriend."

I looked at the two of them curiously, smiling politely. Mike may have been staring at me, but it wasn't the creepy way he used to. Once he got over seeing me, I observed the way his eyes turned adoring when he stared into Jessica's eyes. They were very cute together.

Alice and Rosalie cleared their throats pointedly, and I jumped, not remembering that they were there.

"Hello Mike," Rosalie said silkily. "The girls and I should probably get going."

"Yes," Alice chirped in. "We should go pay for all of this." Rosalie and Alice gave Jessica hard stares. I cringed away from them.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Mike," I said, blushing from Alice and Rose's behavior. "I'm glad that you... that you know I'm not... that we aren't meant to... be together."

It was hard to get that out with the way Jessica was glaring at me, and Mike's blush. I sympathized, realizing that his covet must have been embarrassing for me to bring up. I mean, what if someone did that to _me?_ I flushed.

"I'm sorry," I babbled. "But I'm glad that you're happy and moving on with your life. Jessica seems like a sweetheart--" not really "and I wish the best for the two of you. And maybe--"

Alice slapped her hand over my mouth and smiled easily at the couple. "We'll let you finish your... shopping," she said and bit her lip, giggling, looking pointedly at the condoms. I pushed her hand away to say something again, but Rosalie's pale hand helped Alice's.

"Goodbye," Rosalie said firmly, looking very gorgeous as she stared down Jessica, who was still glowering at me. She flinched away from Rosalie and turned away purposefully.

They each grabbed one of my arms and towed me away while I continued to blush. _Why_ did I always have to act like an idiot? It wasn't as if I really _liked_ Mike, I just felt bad bringing up his obsession with me.

"Jesus, Bella," Alice sighed, pushing the cart into one of the short lines and turned to me, folding her arms. She and Rosalie just stared at me shrewdly while I bit my lip, looking anywhere but at them.

"You know, sometimes I question your sanity," Rosalie finally said.

"Why?" I snapped.

"Because, if you kept that up, Mike would remember that he _'loves'_ you, and you'd have a stalker on your hands again," Alice bit out.

I rolled my eyes and started piling tampons and ice cream onto the check out thing.

"No need to worry, my loves," I said in a mock English accent. They both giggled.

Once we were in the car, Alice started to complain she never had any time with Jasper.

"I really like him, but I don't know when to see him. I remember he said something about having today off, and it's only 11 in the morning," she babbled. "Maybe he doesn't want to see me? I don't know. I do have his number but I don't want to seem desperate--"

While she droned on and on, I stealthily took her purse and pawed around in it, finding her phone and scrolled through her address book. _Bingo_, I thought when I founds Jasper's name. I briefly paused before calling him. The rain had let up but the clouds were still big and menacing. In cringed reflexively away from the window.

I pressed call and held the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I heard his appealing voice after three rings. I grinned.

"Hey, Jasper, this is Bella," I said under my breath. Alice was babbling too loud that she wouldn't be able to hear me.

"Oh." He paused. "Is there anything I can go for you, darling?"

He was such a sweetheart, really. "Actually, you can," I whispered. "Is Emmett busy?"

"No, he's just watching TV." He sounded very curious.

"Well, here's the thing. Alice really wants to see you, and I'm sure Rose wants to see Emmett. Edward is gone, but maybe we can all go see a movie together?" I muttered quietly, holding my breath when Alice paused in her mantra.

Once she started it up again, I still held my breath, waiting for Jasper's response. "I can, of course," he answered immediately. I smiled. "Let me see if Emmett's free."

"Ok," I whispered.

"Bella, what are you mumbling about?" Alice asked me, turned around in her seat.

_Shit!_ I shouted internally, and shifted in my seat so my hair fell over the side of my face, and the hand that was holding the phone to my ear merely looked like I was cupping my cheek in a bored way.

"Oh, nothing," I said quickly. "Just that you are kind of annoying."

She rolled her eyes, but saw that her purse was on my lap. Damn! Forgot to get rid of evidence.

"What are you doing with my purse?" she asked curiously.

At once, I began to dig through and forced myself to cough. "I was--" I forced another cough and talked in a raspy voice "just looking for a bottle of water. You keep everything in here, so.... I swallowed my saliva wrong, and I figured you'd have some water in here or something." I coughed again. I kept my eyes averted, and hoped she wouldn't notice my blush.

"What were you saying, Bella?" Jasper's voice said in my ear. Good lord.

"Just a minute," I whispered.

"Just a minute, what, Bella?" Alice asked, staring at me suspiciously, her eyes narrowed.

"Nothing!" I cried wildly. "Why is the world against me? Leave me alone!" I threw my face into my arms and peeked up, seeing Alice roll her eyes and turn back around while Rosalie commented that I needed a straight jacket and a padded room.

I grinned evilly. Jeesh, just call me the Queen of... Liars! I liked it.

While Rosalie and Alice got into another convo, I whispered into the phone, "Sorry about that, Jasper."

"That's ok," he said patiently. "Alice doesn't know you're calling me?"

"Nope," I said under my breath. "I kind of want to surprise her with a date with you."

He laughed. "That's nice, because I was thinking about calling her when you called me."

I laughed quietly. "Good. She'd be excited."

"Oh, and Emmett's free, by the way," Jasper said in his calm, soothing voice. For a crazy woman like me, he was a huge help.

"Great!" I said a bit too loudly. I held by breath, but Alice and Rose kept talking away. Probably just thought I was talking to myself about world domination. Good. "Meet us at the theater in two hours. Wait out in the front. Thanks, Jasper."

"Any time," he said breezily and we both hung up.

I stashed away her phone and threw Alice's purse next to me.

"You could keep a mini-fridge in that purse. You should put some water in there," I said loudly to pepper my lie. "Thanks to you, I had to drink my saliva to clear my throat."

"Eww," they both giggled. I sighed in satisfaction and sat back in my seat. I was very smug with myself for being so sneaky when I started to think about Edward. I knew he would be at his parents but... maybe, if I was lucky, he would be done in two hours and he could be at the theater, too. I missed him already.

"STOP THE CAR! I'M ABOUT TO PEE MYSELF!" I shouted effectively. It wasn't really a lie, because I really did have to pee, but I also wanted to call Edward. I would simply do it in the car, but I didn't want to spoil the surprise for the girls.

Rosalie, since we were in her convertible, sped up the car and almost made me have a stroke with her stunt driving.

"I'll be damned if you piss on my seats," she said. "This is real fucking leather."

I felt nauseous as we pulled into a gas station, and Rosalie literally opened my door for me. "Go, girl!" she yelled, smiling at me. I forced a laugh, feeling like I was going to throw up.

"She looks green!" Alice said gleefully as I ran, almost tripping, into the gas station.

I burst into the store and looked at the startled cashier. "Bathroom?" he asked cautiously, looking at my face. I nodded furiously, and he pointed to the back. I walked quickly and threw the bathroom door open, slamming it closed. I bent over the toilet and started to puke.

There were reasons why I hated when people drove fast! Especially Rosalie was doing a lot of swerving, which made me almost pee myself. Finished throwing up, I shakily grabbed some toilet paper and wiped my face and quickly emptied my bladder tank. With those necessities finished, I was anxious to hear Edward's voice.

I pulled my phone from where I'd slyly stashed it inside my boot and typed the number I had already memorized.

I started to pace the bathroom after five rings, and after seven, I was about to hang up when Edward finally picked up. "Hello?" he answered, his musical voice stroking my senses. I almost sighed.

"Uh, Edward?" I said, though I almost smacked myself on the forehead. I sounded desperate and needy.

"Bella? What's wrong?" Edward asked at once, his voice alarmed.

"Oh, nothing," I said dryly. "Just having some, ah, you know... anyway, are you busy?"

"I'm sorry, I am," he replied apologetically, though there was something forced and strained about his tone. It was the same melting-honey, musical voice, though there was an undertone.

"You're at your parent's house?" I asked cautiously. I didn't want to seem like a nosy girlfriend; I was honestly curious.

"My parent's... yes," he said dubiously, sounding distracted and very stressed.

I was about to ask yet another question when I heard a very feminine giggle.

"_Edward, come back to the kitchen_," I faintly heard the beautiful voice purr. Seriously, the voice was almost as perfect as Rose's and Alice's. It sounded like it belonged to a supermodel. I froze.

"Um, i-is someone there besides your parent's?" I asked in a freakishly panicked voice.

"Yes," Edward sighed, sounding extremely worn out and strained. "But don't worry. I know what you're thinking. And it _isn't_ what you're thinking."

"_Eddie, come on_.." the voice giggled again. "_Let's see those skills again_."

I panicked, pacing around in circles. "See _what_ skills?" I asked a bit loudly.

Edward hesitated, but before he could answer, I spoke again.

"And who's that, calling you _Eddie?_" I said, my voice rising. I was desperately trying to stay calm and not the crazy-jealous-girlfriend, but it was hard. With someone as gorgeous as Edward, I was sure to have some competition, and judging by the voice of the woman, she sounded beautiful.

I heard a tentative knock at the bathroom door. "Bella? Are you ok?" I heard Alice call. I irritatedly opened the door and let Alice and Rosalie in.

"Bella, really, trust me," Edward pleaded. His voice, raw with emotion and desperation, broke my heart. But his voice switched to the voice I heard earlier this morning. Polite. Emotionless. Perfectly controlled and very suave, such a beautiful voice. Like melting chocolate I wanted to bathe in and very convincing. "I will see you soon, Bella. I will talk to you later. I... have to go."

And he hung up.

I very nearly burst into tears had Rose and Alice not been there.

"It's ok, Bella," Rosalie murmured, rubbing my back. I stared at my phone and shoved it back in my boot. What was _that_ about? I was very willing to hear his explanation; I wasn't the type of girl to say _No! You've made your choice!_ and just _assume_ he was cheating on me or something. That was why, even though my thoughts though otherwise, I wasn't going to assume he was cheating one me. No. Edward wasn't that type of guy to do that... or was he?

Damn it! All I knew was that there was something up. Damn, damn, damn me for not being psychic!

Edward said I had to trust him. Should I...? I recalled how heartbreaking his voice sounded when he pleaded with me to trust him. He sounded genuine, but then he had to switch his voice to something too-convincing. Like a line perfectly delivered by a skilled actor. I was stumped.

"Mother... fucker..." I drew out and snapped out of my reverie. Rosalie and Alice were staring at me in concern, and I smiled in reassurance.

"I'm fine," I insisted. They didn't know what I was yelling about, as they only came in right before Edward hung up. All they knew was that I was upset. But that was fine; they didn't need to suffer, too. Because I was sure I would feel really bad had this happened to Rosalie and Alice.

Oh! Speaking of Rosalie and Alice and their boys, I had to get them home and to coax them to go to the movies.

"Let's go home," I said and smiled at them. They looked dubious and exchanged looks, but gently took my hand and led me outside.

At home, I tried like hell to coax them to go to the movies.

"They have that new one with the cutest boy ever!" I exclaimed in faux cheerfulness. I avoided thinking about my conversation with Edward.

"I already know who the cutest boy ever is," Alice muttered.

"Come on, man," I complained. "Usually I'm the party pooper, not you guys."

Rosalie sighed and turned on me. "Why do you want to go so bad?" she asked sharply.

I decided quickly I'd pull the guilt card on them. "Because... it'd help get things off of my mind," I said and sniffed, but the sad face I had on was genuine. Rosalie's face softened a bit.

"So, seeing a cute boy other than Edward will help?" she asked gently, smiling, lighting up her gorgeous face. I nodded sadly.

"Aw, Bella, why didn't you say so?" Alice asked and hugged me tightly. "Let me go get ready. I want to dress up anyway."

They each gave me a kiss on the cheek, and while they left, I felt the evil grin touch my lips once again. _I am the Daughter of Satan_! I tried out, but I grimaced. Never mind. I stood up and drifted (or more, stumbled) up the stairs and threw on some skinny jeans, a snug white t shirt and slipped on a leather-ish coat that wasn't at all biker-dude, and my converse shoes. **(A/N: Her outfit is randomly on my profile. Go check it out :])**

I brushed my soft brown hair and applied a little, teeny line of eyeliner but other than that, I didn't give a shit. I darted down the stairs and started to pace the living room, knowing full well that Rosalie and Alice were going to take two million years.

So, I knew from the get go this morning that there was something up with Edward. I was not going to assume he was cheating on me, so I considered other things. He had snapped at me when I joked that he lost his virginity in kindergarten... maybe he loved children? Maybe he had a child of his own! No, that was stupid. I shook my head and dug my hands into my pockets and concentrated on the floor, brainstorming for God knows how long that I didn't notice when Alice and Rosalie entered the living room.

"Bella," Alice sang. "Let's get the show on the road!" She was looking at me as if I threw her a birthday party. I made a face. Plus, she looked gorgeous as heck with her mini skirt, flats and a very stylish white blouse. And Rose looked _fierce_ **(laughs)** with gray skinny jeans, black heels and a black snug tank top that made her cleavage look amazing. Not that I was looking or anything.

I rocked back on my heels and started out the door.

The drive was very short, and I noticed Alice constantly shooting me adoring grins like I gave her the best present ever. I made faces every time. Weird, overly happy, hyper, gorgeous pixie.

Pulling into the parking lot, I couldn't help but feel smug as hell. "Oh, look!" I gasped in mock surprise when I saw Jasper and Emmett looking very stunning, leaning against the wall. Emmett was wearing a huge grin while Jasper looked calm.

Alice and Rosalie squealed at the same time and jumped out the car before I even parked it. I parked it quickly and watched in satisfaction as Rosalie, running good for someone in heels, and Alice ran into the arms of Jasper and Emmett. It was such a Hallmark moment, really. I smiled tenderly as they kissed and climbed out of Alice's car, which she let me drive since she was all of a sudden happy with me, and walked over to them.

I cleared my throat playfully while they broke away. Emmett grinned at me.

"Hey, squirt," he boomed, ruffling my hair. I ducked unsuccessfully away from him, blowing my bangs out of my eyes and grinned.

"I actually surprised Alice," I bragged to Emmett as if he were my best friend ever, while he chuckled.

"Hell yes!"

"Actually, no," Alice said, a wise smile on her mouth. "When I noticed Bella acting weird in the car, while she was in the bathroom, I looked in my purse and saw my phone on the _opposite_ side of the pocket I usually keep it in. With that knowledge, I scrolled through recent calls and saw Jasper's name! I was curious and called Jasper."

I shot Jasper an exasperated look while he raised both hands in surrender. "I couldn't resist," he said and looked adoringly at Alice, who grinned up at him. "I wanted to surprise her, but she's a smart one."

I gritted my teeth.

"Emmett," I said. "Three things. You. Me. A plan to find a way to surprise the pixie."

He laughed. "You are talking to the master of all pranks," he gloated and flexed his muscles. We grinned at each other until Rose cleared her throat.

"Bella, I thought you wanted to see a movie, not stand here and chat all day?" she asked teasingly. I notice Emmett, who had a perfect view of her chest, chose to stare into her eyes.

Aww, the big guy was a softy!

"You guys go ahead," I said, backing away. I wanted them to have their privacy, and plus I had some research and some sniping around to do. "I have things to do."

"You sure?" Alice called out. I nodded and bit my lip to hide my grin. I turned away and walked to Alice's car and got in, glancing at them before I left the parking lot.

Ok, so I usually wasn't a nosy person, and I never thought I'd be the girlfriend to poke around her boyfriend's things. Seriously. But put yourself in my position, and what would you do? All I wanted to know was what was up. Edward sure wasn't going to tell me, so who else? I had to take the matter in my own hands.

Plus, my life would suck without him.

* * *

**A/N: Ok! So, we have a new piece of info! And please don't think Edward is cheating on Bella; there is a reason why I made Bella's thoughts go away from those things. Because he isn't cheating on her. But I hope this will keep you guys curious! And yeah.. the little food fight and stuff with the girls? I've done that with my friends before! Please, review! Review as if I told you I was actually a thirteen year old writing this! Ha ha-- really, tell me, what _would_ you say if I actually were thirteen? Give me feedback, people! Like it, hate it? Want me to change things? I'll never know unless you review and tell me! I love you guys! **

**xoxo**

**Lucy-bug**


	16. Captains and Cruise Ships

**A/N: Hey bitches. SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. NO EXCUSES. All in all, I've had more reviews before in my life.. lol you guys are weird. One chapter, you're reviewing like crazy, and next chapter, I can hear the crickets... tough crowd, tough crowd. Lol. Ok, enough self pity. First off, let me thank those of you who are actually on this story. I know, I'm a shitty ass updater. But sometimes I get writer's block, so even if I'm not busy and the computer is open, I don't have anything to write about. But then some days I get inspired and any chance I get, I just write and write. This is what I was doing since a couple of days ago when I got inspired at wal mart. (also, how were your Christmases?)**

**Also, you may have noticed I took down my other story. I tend to act on impulses and I posted that before I realized I would be _way_ in over my head. It's already hard enough to update this one, so I'm saving that one until this story is done. :] And just today I finished reading the second book to the The Hunger Games. AMAZING book!! I'm blown away!! Just had to say that... lol.. ok, here is your chapter for ya! (Don't think Bella is creepy in this chapter.. lol... AND REMEMBER, EDWARD IS NOT CHEATING ON BELLA. AND VICE VERSA YOU SUSPICIOUS, DARLING BEINGS.)**

**Disclaimer: No characters belong to me, I just make them weird and frazzled.**

**Song: Captains and Cruise Ships by Owl City **

**"Count the stars, watch the waves absorb the summer sun  
And think of me when you explore hidden coves  
And tiny island chains throughout the sea  
Can you still, hear my voice  
When I'm outside, from over the phone?"  
**

* * *

Chapter 16

The place I decided to visit in order to figure out more background information on Edward was his apartment.

Ok.

Don't tell me I was being stalkerish and creepy.

Edward was actually a pretty secretive guy and you know what they say, desperate times calls for desperate measures. I knew where Edward lived because I was mentally jotting down streets we were going through when Edward took me home. He probably didn't suspect I would go to this extreme, but it wasn't like I was going to break into his safebox. I promised myself that I would only look through things that were on the surface.

Edward trusted me, and I knew that I was risking his trust by doing this. However, I was doing this because I cared. I would not snoop any further than information regarding any events that were taking place on this day.

Edward deserved to keep some secrets. We all had some secrets, I know I did, so I would keep this light.

Pulling onto the curb across his street, I slid on my sunglasses and pulled my coat on tighter so I wouldn't be suspect-able. Let's just say things wouldn't turn out well if Edward came home and a neighbor said, "Hey, how are you? Good, good. Oh and by the way, I saw a girl with brown hair sneaking around you bushes yesterday. She was about yay high, pale skin, long brown hair... ring a bell?" NO THANK YOU.

I left my purse in the car so I wouldn't have anything extra to lug around. I hopped out of the car and tried to look as inconspicious as I could while wearing sunglasses when it wasn't even all that sunny outside.

I looked both ways to see if anyone was there. Nope. I hummed and looked at my feet in such a way that made me look like I _wasn't_ a creepy girl. I hoped.

As I was looking down at my feet, I didn't notice that someone was in front of me until I ran smack into them, my body colliding with a hard wall. Or so it seemed.

**Jacob's POV** **(a/n: calm down ladies!!)**

Fuck that shit. Billy, sure, was incapable of doing many things but that didn't mean he could control every place I was going and what chicks I dated.

I put on my shitkickers and threw on my leather jacket, hopping onto my motorcycle and skidded away, leaving an upset father behind.

I didn't like to make Billy mad. But as far as I knew, I was 21 fucking years old. I came to visit him often and to help him out but he had caught word there was a pregnancy scare from the last chick I was with. He thought I was treating women like dirt. Me? Treat women like dirt? Fuck no. I loved women. And it wasn't my fault that they seemed to fall back with their legs open when I was interested in them. And I didn't bone every girl I met.

One out of four, maybe.

Not sure where I was going, I revved up engine and coaxed my bike to go faster. And when the speed didn't do shit, while also feeling too restless to sit, even on a motorcycle, I jerked my bike to the left and set it on its kick stand, jumping off lithely and swiftly walked forward, shoving my hands in my pockets and keeping my head low.

I had to remember to keep my temper in check when I was around Billy. He was old and very capable of having a heart attack. Since I wasn't as gentle-tempered as my sisters and pussy-whipped like some Poindexter rich bitch, like the people that came to visit and help Billy, I needed to remember that. Billy had always told me that I was quick-tempered and impulsive ever since I was a young kid.

He also told me that it was going to get me in trouble some day.

I loved my dad, but sometimes I swore he was a nutcase. I mean, why else would I ride my bike from Seattle to the res every once in a while? I turned the corner, and I looked up from the cement and almost stopped walking.

I'd seen a whole bunch of smokin' girls over in Seattle and over at the college. But most wore too much make up and too tight of clothing that made you _wonder_ why people called them sluts. But this girl, who was walking with her head low and a guilty line to her full, sensual mouth, was different.

She had the exact replica body of Tila Tequila; petite and sexy. Her long brown hair reached her waist, shiny and a little bit wavy. Even though it was cloudy as a mo-fo outside, she was oddly enough wearing big sunglasses that covered half of her face so all I could see were her full red lips, creamy pale skin, though her cheeks were flushed. She was focusing on the ground and kept looking to her left, but I noticed this all too late when she crashed into me.

"Oof!" she mumbled, stumbling backwards. My hand shot out to grab her.

"Oh, fabulous..." she started, but she looked up at me and stopped whatever she was saying. She lifted her small dainty hand and slid her unnecessary sunglasses to the top of her head so I could now see her eyes. Beautiful. They were wide, chocolate brown that looked lusty with life and far wiser and older than she really could be. She looked like she knew everyone's secret and then some. She was a knock-out. Creamy pale skin with rose-pedal colored cheeks. She had a dainty chin, small button nose, a narrow jaw. Almost everything about her was small. Well... my eyes dropped to her chest. Her chest was perky and fit her compact figure just right.

But her cat eyes, her watchful brown eyes held me the most.

"Whoa there," I said carefully, standing her up straight.

**BPOV**

It was like walking into a brick wall. One second I'm peeking over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching and the next I slam into something that I didn't even know was in my line of walking.

"Whoa there," a husky voice warned, a big warm hand steadying me. I looked up, and I had to crane my neck in order to see who was in front of me.

He was cute. Sort of beautiful, actually. He had shaggy black hair, a sharp, narrow jaw, strong chin, and a very sharp nose. His eyes were so opaque that there were practically black. He was a handsome thing, though he looked no older than 21 years old. He must have been seven thousand feet in height, he was so freakin' tall.

"Jeez, I'm sorry, I always bump into things," I muttered, rubbing my temples.

"No big deal," he said lazily, and I looked up into his face and grinned. He was just watching me, his eyes curious and mischievous.

"Sorry for bumping into you..." I looked at him expectantly.

"Jacob." He smiled such a big smile that I felt my heart skipped a beat. "You?"

"Bella. Bella Swan."

He smiled playfully. "Alright, Bella, Bella Swan. I just might have to get the law involved for that big crash." Jacob tried to keep his tone serious but his eyes were still glinting teasingly.

I feigned shock and put a hand over my heart. "If anything, _I_ suffered the most damage. I pretty much walked into a wall," I said indignantly.

"You're so tiny that it may _have_ seemed that way to you," he mocked me. Suddenly his eyes brightened and he leered. "However I will let this slide if you let me take you out to dinner, and let me get to know you a little better."

I opened my mouth to say something, then stopped. Jacob... he was cute and funny, sure, but somehow I didn't find myself interested. I looked away from him and frowned. All of my affection and potential to love someone was aimed and locked on Edward, creepily enough, so I wasn't totally interested in going out with Jacob. Well, not in a way that would lead us to a path from acquaintances to something more.

Though I just met him, the only thing I knew he would ever be to me was a friend.

I blushed belatedly, realizing he just asked me out. I glanced at his cool and calm face, so sure that I would accept, and felt bad. How to let him down nicely?

I looked at him levelly and tried to keep my voice bright. "Umm... I actually have a boyfriend," I said, biting my lip. "I mean, I don't know you other than the fact that you seem funny and sweet, but... if we ever did go out together... it would be as friends."

He raised a brow and held my gaze. "Sure." That was it. But his black opaque gaze drilled me and I widened my eyes. What was he up to? "But we could go out as friends, right?"

I was taken aback. I didn't realize that he would be interested in being my friend. I mean, wasn't this oddly formal to just agree and try to be friends after you crashed into each other on the sidewalk? I looked at him suspiciously; should I trust him? Would he not be up to anything that involved... ulterior motives? Jacob grinned and looked boyishly charming.

"Come on." He winked. "I don't bite... hard."

I didn't expect it, but I felt a laugh bubble up and spill out from my closed lips. Jacob lifted one side of his mouth and smirked. His expressive but cool eyes didn't give anything away but amusement.

Before accepting, I gave him a once over. Black slouchy jeans, white shirt and black leather jacket. Heavy boots that I once heard was called "shit kickers". He was extremely tall, maybe 6'4 or 6'5 (who knew, I wasn't a fucking measure-er person **[LOL]**) with an athletic build. I felt even more puny next to him with my short 5'4. When he turned his neck, I could see the tip of a tattoo peeking up towards his right shoulder. I couldn't make out what it was. His stance was casual and nonchalant like he didn't give two shits about the world. His face was handsome and the best part of his face was his sharp cheek bones and soulful eyes. His shaggy jet black hair draped over his forehead in a cute way that was, while looking "badass", very boyishly cute at the same time. His expression was naughty, his eyes sly and sneaky, his full lips upturned into a ghost of a smile. His skin was dark, a beauitul brown. I thought he looked Native American.

He looked like... a bad boy. Point blank. The exact type of person you father tried to steer you away from. The type that seemed wrong for me. Me, innocent little ol' me.

To be honest, and I admit this sheepishly, I used to have a thing for badboys. Even in high school, with my good-goody status and straight A grades, I always day dreamed about going out with a bad boy. The thrill of doing something different and something that you aren't supposed to do always gave my veins a tingle and I longed for the adrenaline rush. Sometimes I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and go with the flow a bad boy has: rebellious, pissed off, nonchalant, and uncaring.

Jacob would have been the perfect person I would daydream about. And plus, what would be so bad about being his friend?

"Sure," I said finally. I bit my lip and smiled at him tentatively. He smiled almost smugly but his eyes remained cool. "You sure, though? Some people say I'm a bit weird."

Jacob smirked slyly. "Don't worry," he purred, his eyes glinting teasingly. "I'm ok with weird."

We exchanged phone numbers.

I stepped back and looked around a little awkwardly. I glanced at him. He didn't look awkward. Not at all. He was just watching me, his opaque eyes unreadable. "Well...." I rocked back on my heels and fought the urge to whistle through my teeth. "I guess I'll see you around." I glanced at my watch and started, remembering I was on a spying mission.

I looked back up at him apologetically. His eyes startled me. They burned with smoldering intensity. His big hand reached out and picked up my own white-as-hell hand. Holding my gaze, he raised my hand to his mouth and brushed his lips against my knuckles. His intense black eyes held me, and I couldn't look away for some reason.

He dropped my hand and smiled at me one more time. Then he just walked away.

I blinked. Letting out the breath I was holding, I ran a hand through my hair and scolded myself for feeling flustered. I mean, I _didn't_ like my new-found friend Jacob like that. It was just that his eyes were very captivating.

Giving up, I trudged back towards Alice's car down the street and buckled myself in. I was ashamed of myself for letting that damn Jacob get the better of my common sense and let me get caught up into him. For him making me forget my task and making me feel tired and flustered and pissed and special and flattered and... for God's sake. I banged my head against the steering wheel for several minutes until I was satisfied with the tender spot on my forehead.

I deserved it. Glaring out the window, I decided that I would _not _hang out with Jacob. _Nope_. I refused to. Right now I needed to concentrate on Edward. Edward was my priority; he was there for me and undoubtedly would be disappointed if he knew that I was off hanging out with some bad boy instead of him, who, Edward, was off himself being all cryptic and mysterious and ohmygodIhadsomeissues.

So Edward was off making me feel frustrated while Jacob, whom I just met, was making me feel uneasy and unsure of myself. Of what path I was on. No, not the one with Edward, but what choices I made. If I hadn't chose to go stalk Edward then I wouldn't have met Jacob, then I wouldn't feel like I was cheating on Edward because I felt flustered when Jacob looked me in the eyes.

I bit my lip and shook my head, shoving my sunglasses into the glove compartment. I started the car and pulled away carefully from the curve and back home.

Hopefully Alice and the others were having a good time.

----

When I got home, I dropped face down on my bed and wallowed in my confusion, almost suffocating myself when I didn't lift my head to get fresh oxygen.

The sound of my phone ringing made me jump. I scrambled onto my knees and pretty much dove off my bed to get to my purse that I precariously threw to the corner of the room. "Shit!" I muttered when I fell face down. I lay there for a second because my knee stung. Then the phone rang again and I leapt for my purse, successfully knocking my teeth together and biting my lip so it started bleeding.

Dumping my purse's contents onto the floor, I shoved everything around until I found my pink phone. "Aha!" I mumbled, and held it in my hand. If it was Edward, or Jacob, I wanted to let it ring for a few more seconds so that I didn't seem desperate, and that they wouldn't know I did a swan dive and a couple of butterfly strokes to get to the phone.

I let out a breathy laugh. Finally, I checked the screen to see who it was. I tried to ignore the disappointment I felt when I saw that it was Mrs. Brock. "Hello?"

"Oh, Bella, thank you," Mrs. Brock sighed in relief, her Spanish accent as charming as ever. "How are you?"

I lay back on the floor and tried to control my tone. I really liked Mrs. Brock but, Jesus. Christ. "I'm great," I said warmly. "And you?"

"Good, good," she said a bit absently. She hesitated, then said, "Listen, I was wondering if you would do me a favor. I know I am asking you things a lot lately but I know that you are very dependable."

Now I was intrigued. "I'm not busy." Well, that was way more than true. "I'll do whatever you need."

"Oh, you are sweet, _cariño_," Mrs. Brock said affectionately. "My sister in law has caught the flu, poor girl, and tomorrow she's hosting a dinner with my family and my husband's. I'm taking her to the doctor's, and she needs some shopping done. We would do it ourselves but," she paused and chuckled, "with as much people there is going to be, we need to whole day tomorrow to cook. If you would be kind of enough and get that shopping done, I would be very grateful." Her voice was almost desperate.

I grinned goofily. Just the right thing to distract me. "Sure!" I said enthusiastically, sitting up, putting the things back inside my purse. "I'll be right over."

Mrs. Brock laughed in relief. "Thank you, Isabella, you really are a life savor."

We said good bye and hung up. I put my phone back into my pocket and slung my bag over my shoulder. I grabbed my jacket that I tossed on my bed and put it on, glancing out the window.

Uh-oh. It looked like it was about to rain. I looked at my shoes and, since they were boots-esque, decided they would be ok enough to endure the rain without getting my socks wet. **(If you wanna see them, again, it's on my profile. lol I'm creepy.)**

Grabbing an umbrella by the door, I locked up and headed over to the Brock's.

When I arrived, it was sprinkling lightly. I glowered up at the sky and flipped it off before ringing the door bell.

Mrs. Brock answered it, her pretty, exotic face looking stressed out as hell. Once she saw it was me, she smiled and hugged me. "Thank you," she whispered in my ear and hugged me fiercely. I shrugged; I mean, all I was doing was going shopping for her.

As if reading my mind, she laughed and answered my unsaid question. "I'm dealing with a lot. Sophie has decided she wants to wear mommy's make up, and my sister in law Margret's baby will not stop crying." As if on cue, a baby started to cry. Mrs. Brock closed her eyes for a second and said something in Spanish under her breath.

"Bella, would you mind taking the baby with you?" she questioned. I looked her her stressed out face and nodded. She looked relieved once again. She motioned for me to follow her upstairs and she told me what to do as we ascended the stairs. "I will give you three hundred dollars to get all of the supplies, which are on a list and the stores in which to get them in, and extra for gas money." Mrs. Brock hurriedly walked into a room and came out with a list, and three bills that read one hundred on them. She handed them to me and kept walking.

"As for bringing little Penny along, all you need to do is sit her in her baby seat and put her in the cart if you're going into Wal Mart. Or else, if she's awake, you cat sit her in the cart without the seat. Just keep an eye on her." She glanced over her shoulder at me with an arched eyebrow, to make sure I was listening. "Penny is one year old, and I'm sure she won't be a big problem or else I wouldn't ask you to bring her. And I know you like babies." I nodded and smiled: that was true.

She led me into a room where a woman, pale and a striking image of Mrs. Brock's husband, lay in bed. Mrs. Brock introduced us. "Margret, this is Bella." She gestured to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. Her voice held a little pride when she said, "She will be doing your shopping and taking care of Penny. Bella used to babysit for me all the time, and did recently, and she is very trustworthy. Babies love her, too." Mrs. Brock smiled motherly over at me. "Bella, this is Margret. She's the mother of the baby you will be taking care of and whose shopping you will do. Well, my shopping, too."

After a quick hello to Margret, Mrs. Brock quickly led me out of the room and to the sound of a crying baby. "Penny is sweet, don't worry. She just wants some attention right now." She pushed the door open, and the cutest little baby was sitting in a crib, crying. She didn't look much like Margret; not that Margret wasn't pretty. She had jet black hair, coiling curls close to her head since she was only 12 months old. Her large, chocolate brown eyes looked heartbreaking. I was compelled to pick her up and comfort her. She was very tiny, even for a one year old.

Mrs. Margret picked Penny up and cradled her in her arms. "Shh," she chastised softly. She kissed her forehead. "You will be with Bella for a while, ok?" She crooned at the baby a bit more, then passed her over to me. "I have to make a phone call; would you mind changing her clothes into something warm? It looks like it will rain." Mrs. Brock proceeded to show me where her clothes were and headed out the room.

I looked down at little Penny in my arm and smiled. She had stopped crying, and was staring up at me with her large brown eyes. "Hello," I cooed. "Looks like you're stuck with me for the day."

I sat her down on her changing table and pulled out a few clothes from her little closet; seriously, the Brock's were _rich_. Since it was very cold outside, I decided to put her in a oncie, two pairs of white tights and, not changing her diaper since Mrs. Brock mentioned she already did that, put a casual but cute little pink dress over her head. Then I slipped on her little black shoes that couldn't have fit in my hand.

I grinned at her. Penny was fascinated with my cell phone that I set down next to her and tried to put it in her mouth. "No," I said and gently pried it from her fingers. I thought she would cry but instead she picked up something else and started playing with her, making little noises. She was just so cute, sitting there in her little outfit and not really caring what she was wearing.

Inspiration hit and I dug through her hair box and found a little pink bow. Ok, I know I was being very cliche and dressing her up in girly pink clothes, but come on! It wasn't every day when I could dress up a cute little 1 year old how I wanted to.

She made little cooing sounds and paid me no mind as I fixed it into her hair. "This looks cute," I told her proudly, looking her over. She was the most precious, adorable baby _ever_. I tried not to sound any more cliche, but still!

Penny looked up at me and smiled a child-like smile, her dimpled fingers still playing with her comb she picked up. "Yeah, I pick some of that up from my best friend Alice," I told her, twirling some of her curls around my fingers. I smiled at her. "Not that it does me much good, but still."

Penny clapped her hands made the noise, "Aahh!" It sounded a lot like a delighted laugh. I laughed along with her and picked her up off her changing table. "I know, I know, my fashion sense isn't that great. But I mean, I did well today, didn't I?" I gestured down at my clothes. Penny just grinned, not knowing what I was saying, and started to tug at my hair. I let her; it didn't hurt.

She fit perfectly well in my arms and I felt something deep in my chest, and I ached to to be a mother someday. Not tomorrow, but after I got married.

As I walked out the hall and picked up her baby bag, I bumped into Sophie.

"Hey, Sophie," I greeted her and ruffled her hair. She grinned up at me, as gorgeous as her mother.

"Hello, Bella," she said, sounding oddly mature. But her child-like lilt contradicted it and I smiled. But when I looked at her, I noticed a little too much blush on her cheeks and dark red lip stick on her lips.

"Oh, Sophie," I sighed and knelt down next to her and setting Penny on my knee. I laughed softly. "Why are you wearing make up?"

Sophie looked surprisingly indignant for a 6 year old and raised her chin. "'Cause. Mommy is an old lady and wears make up like the girls on TV. _I _can be like that. I can wear make up and be old, too."

I chuckled and wiped some of the blush off of her face, ignoring Penny's cooing and tugging on my hair. "Well, seeing as you're 6, you might have to wait a bit," I told her. I looked her in the eye. "Mommy will let you wear make up soon, don't worry. And being old is hard, so enjoy being young while it lasts." I thought about Edward and sighed. I liked talking to Sophie, because even though she was young, she was surprisingly mature. I wiped off her lipstick next. I dropped my voice to an excited whisper and said, "But you just wait. In a few years--" like 7 years, actually, "your mom will let you wear make up. You'll get to be a big girl soon enough, so don't worry." I stroked her hair back. "Don't worry, Sophie."

I kissed her forehead and switched Penny's weight from my left side to my right side. Sophie looked up at me. "Are you _sure_ I will get to wear make up soon?" Her indignant frown hadn't left, nor her pout.

"I'm absolutely, positively sure," I assured her, nodding my head solemnly. Sophie thought about it a second and her face broke out into a smile.

"Thank you Bella," she said, sounding more like her age than usual. She hugged my legs and disappeared into her room.

I smiled and looked at Penny, who was sucking her thumb and looking at my necklace, her other hand playing with it. I reached out my index finger and touched her little button nose. "Soon enough that might be you," I sighed. I hiked her diaper bag up my shoulder and turned towards the stairs.

Mrs. Brock just hung up her phone and looked her me curiously. "Wow," she said, approving. "She listens to someone, _finally_." She laughed at herself and thanked me. She handed me Penny's white jacket and said, "Well, that's all you need. Thank you again, Bella. Here's an extra key to let yourself in if nobody answers when you come back. If my husband is there, he will bring in the stuff. If it is just you, I will pay you extra."

I shook my head and smiled. "You don't need to pay me at all, Mrs. Brock," I said, holding Penny more firmly. "It's just nice to help you out."

Mrs. Brock looked unsure and, I knew that while I didn't want her money, she would probably still try and pay me.

She led me to her door and helped me put Penny in her car seat and said, "One more thing. If no one is home, could you stay here with Penny until someone arrives?"

"Of course," I assured her. Of course.

Mrs. Brock showed me to my car and helped buckle in the car seat and made sure everything was settled. "Again, thank you, Bella," she murmured. "You are an absolute star."

I blushed and said it was no big deal for the thousandth time and drove away from her large house.

Before turning out her driveway, and hoping the loud engine wasn't too much for Penny, I looked at her list. First stop, Wal Mart. "Well, let's go," I told Penny and drove away.

I managed to have fun with Penny. I had turned on the radio and sung along, causing Penny to laugh and clap her fingers together. She seemed very much awake.

Pulling into Wal Mart, I noticed the rain had started to pick up a bit. And of course, there were a lot of people there so I had to park far away. Just great. I opened my umbrella as soon as I stepped out and walked around to the other side of the car and decided to let Penny get out of her car seat. She _was_ awake and she _was_ a well-behaved baby. Pulling her hood over her head and unbuckling her, I put my purse over my shoulder and then picked her up with my opposite arm, keeping her under the umbrella with me.

I closed the door with my hip and briskly walked forward. The rain seemed content to pick up its speed as soon as I started walking and soon I was at a power walk. Penny held out her hand a few time to feel the rain with her tiny little hand. Her big eyes widened in wonder and she looked back at me and grinned.

I could feel a companionship beginning to grow.

Once we made it inside the automatic doors, I tried to close the umbrella with one hand but it was hard. Soon an elderly man silently took it from me and closed it, handing it back. I thanked him and grabbed a shopping car, sitting Penny in the front seat of it and faced her to me. Then I set my purse down next to her.

Pushing the car into the brightly lit Wal Mart, I noticed how busy it was. The lines were long but I could deal with it.

"Ok," I told Penny, taking off her hood, "let's see what we need."

I grabbed the list from my purse and moved the the food section of Wal Mart. As I pushed the cart along, I gave Penny the list. She chewed on the edge of it and started making her cooing sounds when my phone alerted me that I had a new text message.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw that it was from Alice.

_Where are you?_

_- A._

I glanced up at Penny. She had her jacket sleeve stuffed in her mouth, a waterfall of drool falling onto her pretty dress. I sighed and wiped it away. "Let me text back real quick and then we'll get started," I assured Penny.

"Bawaa!" she said cheerfully. I think it was supposed to mean "Go ahead. Knock yourself out." Then again, I didn't speak baby, so....

I moved pushed the cart slowly and texted her back.

_I'm out at Wal Mart. I'll call you later._

_- B_.

Almost immediately she texted back. Well, that could be because her phone had a keyboard.

_What are you wearing? ;)_

_- Alice_

I rolled my eyes.

_Jeez! Actually I'm not wearing anything. You just caught me coming out of the shower. No; I'll call you later, ok?_

_- B._

I turned my phone off and pinched Penny's cheek. She made a noise and popped her thumb in her mouth. She was so tiny, even for a 1 year old, and I made a funny face at her. Penny clapped her hands and bounced up and down, laughing. I smiled triumphantly.

I glanced down at the list and pushed the cart over to the Produce section. "We need eggs and meat," I said aloud to Penny. She was watching other shoppers. Sweeping my hair to one side, I stopped the cart next to the eggs and leaned over the different types of eggs. I picked up a carton and opened it to see if any eggs were cracked. I did the same with two others and put them in the cart. Next I chose the specific meat that she needed, but it said on the list that I would need to get the main meat at a little shop that specifically sold meat.

I got two cartons of milk, and got a small Nesquik that had chocolate milk that I could share with Penny. Several times Penny tried to pick things up and put them in her mouth, but I had to take them away and scold her. A few times she almost cried, but I kissed her forehead and crooned at her until she cheered up.

When we got to the chips and candy isle, I picked up the kinds Mrs. Brock needed. One was guacamole. I held it up and turned to Penny. "These look gross, don't they?" She stuck her fingers inside her mouth and stared at me solemnly. "But they are actually kind of good." Which was true. Usually I didn't like that type, but still.

Penny started fussing and trying to take off her jacket at one point. "Monaa!" she cried. She tried to pull her chubby arms through but couldn't. I bit my lip and helped her out of it. Now she looked absolutly precious clad only in her pink dress and white tights. I grinned at her and pulled off my jacket, feeling a bit warm myself.

"I feel what you feel," I told her sympathetically. I placed our coats next to Penny.

I got the rest of the things off the list and decided to take Penny to the toy isle to entertain her. She was having fun pointing at people and tugging at their coats, but I figured she needed something more... productive. I didn't really need fellow shoppers shooting me glares. On the bright side, when they looked at Penny, they cooed at her and asked me if it was mine. I blushed and told them that it wasn't.

When we were where all the toys were, I picked Penny up and rested her against my hip. I grabbed a stuffed doll off the shelf.

"Jesus Christ." I looked at the stuffed doll. "They really made one of _Jesus Christ_?" I shook my head and put it back. Penny laughed, her child eyes dancing.

Some stuffed animals looked a bit creepy. One was a dinosaur, and you'd think they would make it have a friendly expression, but it didn't. Penny screamed and tugged on my neck, molding her face into my breast.

"Christ. For a 12 month year old, you are really strong," I gasped. Or maybe I was just a weakling.

The toys looked like sex toys. I swore one of them looked like a vibrator. I picked it up and showed it to Penny. "What do you think this is?"

She pressed her hands together and grinned, her few tiny teeth showing. I shook my head and laughed. "That's right. You _shouldn't_ know. If so, I would shoot my foot," I told her seriously.

I put it back on the shelf and put my hands under either of her under arms and held her high up above me. She giggled and laughed, while I cooed things such as, "Who is the prettiest ickle baby ever?" I pressed my lips to her cheek and blew. She laughed delightedly, wrapping her tiny chubby arms around my neck. I pressed my lips to her other cheek and repeatedly kissed it, crooning between kisses, "I love love love you."

While she buried her face against the crook of my neck and laughed, her hot moist breath wetting my neck, I suddenly longed to be a mother. Not today, but some day. I was 24. Most women were married by now and gifted with a precious child. I had always dreamed to have a child like this, any child really, and to repeatedly tell him/her that I love him/her. It was like some unknown maternal instinct for me to tell be baby that I love them.

I thought I would make a great mother some day. I hoped.

I pulled Penny back and shifted her weight to one side, trying to put her back in the cart. She protested and held on to my neck. _Jeez_, but she was strong. I mean, obviously I could break her hold, but I wouldn't do that. Plus I thought it was kind of cute; her arms were locked around my neck while I tried to extract her away from me. So I laughed softly and let her stay. She sighed happily and said, "Lamy." I kept her weight to the right side of my body, her tiny chubby legs as far around my waist as her height would let her.

It would be kind of hard to push a heavy cart with one hand, but hey.

As I turned the cart around, I froze. There, standing with the most gorgeous woman I'd ever seen besides Alice and Rosalie and a more middle aged beautiful woman, was Edward. It was weird, actually, to see that model trio at such a common place like Wal Mart. They should actually be modeling some clothes for Abercrombie & Fitch or something.

The younger woman looked a lot like a Greek goddess. Seriously, ever heard of Aphrodite? I'm sure that's what she would look like. Her caramel hair fell into soft cascades of waves and it reminded me of silk and velvet. Her statuesque body was a lot like Rosalie's, but this woman's was more curvy. Personally I liked Rosalie's swim suit model figure better, but that could be just because I immediately didn't like this woman. Her body was almost as good as Rose's. She was tall, wearing gray skinny jeans and black heels with a wrap around the ankle. Her small low cut shirt hugged her curves and showed just how much she had to offer in the boob department. Her coat was light weight and pure white. Her face was haughty and sneery but her pale white skin, lush full glossy lips, wide amber eyes with cat eye eyeliner and perky nose, was devastatingly, drop dead gorgeous.

The other woman, who looked about 40, had a kind face. She was thin and surprisingly beautiful with radiant white skin. She looked young, but there was something about her that told me she was 40.

Then there was Edward. My heart melted at the site of him. His startling vibrant green eyes met mine, and I sighed. He looked more like a greek God then ever. His full lips were turned up into a slight smile, his strong jaw slightly clenched, one perfect brow raised. Edward could definitely pass of as the most beautiful man on Earth.

But what made me feel upset and left out about this gorgeous trio was the fact that the woman and Edward looked like the perfect couple. And she was pretty much all over him anyways, and when I met her icy gaze, it said just that. She looked me up and down and rolled her eyes, slipping her arm through Edward's. I held Penny closer to me. The older woman was browsing the shelves so she didn't notice me.

I looked at Edward and tried to keep my expression neutral. He looked uncomfortable and took his arm away from the woman's and folded them. His jaw was definitely clenched.

Should I approach him? I didn't really want to with Her Bitchiness next to him, but I had to go anyways. I looked at Penny and saw that her eyes were closed, her thumb in her mouth and her head against my chest. I kept my grip firm and pushed the cart forward. I felt like a single mom.

As I began to get closer, I forced a smile and didn't look Edward in the eye. "Hi," I said quietly. Instead I focused on his mouth. Flashes of his lips on mine entered my head, and I remembered how warm and soft they were. I blushed and looked in his eyes instead. They were cold. His expression didn't say much other than the fact that he was pissed off about something or other. But the tightness of his jaw loosened a bit when I looked into his eyes.

"Bella," he greeted. I almost gasped at how velvety and musical his voice was, that I'd forgotten and seductive it was. It was like a zap to my crotch. His beautiful eyes flickered down the dozing baby and looked back up at me, his eyes confused.

I smiled when I looked at Penny. She really was adorable. "Do you remember Mrs. Brock?" I asked him. But I blushed when he smirked and nodded his head. "T-this is her husband's sister's daughter." I blinked rapidly and couldn't hold his drilling gaze and settled for looking at the floor again.

Why were things all of a sudden awkward between us? Why did he look mad? Suddenly I wanted to kick myself for not taking the chance to figure out what he was doing when I could even though that dubbed me as a creepy stalker.

A feminine voice cleared her throat. "Edward." My eyes snapped up and saw it was the gorgeous girl next to him saying this. She was pretty much snarling at me, her gaze colder than ice. Her voice was strong and like chiming bells, and it would be pleasant if she wasn't such a grouch. "We should catch up with your mom."

He sighed and began looking bored. "Go walk up if you like," he said, his voice smoother than silk. I think I melted. "You don't have to keep yourself glued to my side, you know."

She glared at him, and finally turned to look at me. My arm was really getting tired from holding Penny this long, and I switched her to my other arm. My arm felt like jelly. "Who are you?" she asked grudgingly, her voice showing her distaste.

"I'm Bella," I answered, biting my lip and feeling my cheeks heat up. I glanced at her again. For some reason she was really intimidating. And again, I noticed how good of a couple she and Edward would make. They were both drop dead gorgeous, pale white and could have stepped off an add for A&F.

"Oh," she said, flipping her silky hair. She rolled her eyes at me. "Whatever."

I looked at Edward and saw that he looked annoyed. His jaw was clenched and his arms were crossed, but I could see that his fists were balled into tight fists. Jeez. "Christ, Carmen, don't be such a fucking gripe," he snapped. His eyes were smoldering in their irritation and I almost stepped back.

Carmen (which was a name that fit her appearance) sighed dramatically and pouted at him, her full red lips pushed out. She leaned against his arms so that her breasts were pressed against them, and, mind you, gave him a perfect view of her generous bosom. I felt jealous. Her voice dropped to a seductive purr. "Come on, Eddie," she said huskily. "Let's leave."

Edward didn't even look at her. He took his arm away from her manicured nails and stepped away, looking bored and more than a little hostile. He turned his gaze to mine and it sent an electrical current down my spine. His impossibly green eyes and wits-scrambling beautiful face made it hard to think. I looked away and blushed.

"Fine," Carmen huffed, folding her arms right under her breasts to push them up further. She looked at me and laughed. But it wasn't a kind laugh. "Nice to meet you, _Bella_," she said mockingly, her voice dripping malice. "Didn't know you were a single mother." She scoffed at me.

I frowned at her. What did I ever do to her? I opened my mouth the retort but Edward cut me off. "Shit, Carmen, lay the fuck off. She already explained who the baby was. It isn't hers," he growled. The sleeves of his shirt was pushed up, so I could see his tendons sticking out by how hard he was clenching his fists.

Carmen flipped him off. "I'm talking to _Bella_, not you," she quipped. She looked at me from under her uncannily long eyelashes and smirked. "Did you know that Edward used to be my boyfriend?" she purred.

I sighed. "No, I didn't know that," I said tiredly. "But I really don't care."

Carmen raised her perfectly arched eyebrows. "You don't?" she asked me, not convinced. She threw her head back and laughed seductive peals of laughter and made sure her boobs bounced with every laugh. She looked at Edward, her eyes filled with pure lust. Her voice dropped to that low, phone sex voice. "Do you remember that night, in the bubble bath, when you -"

I didn't want to hear this anymore. "Listen, Carmen," I said, fixing her with the glare I saved for people I didn't like at all. "I really don't care about your past with Edward. I don't care if you had sex with him a million times in _the bubble bath_ you shared with him. And I sure as hell don't care if you have a problem with me. I don't even know you. I don't even know what you're doing with Edward. But that was his past, I know for one he's ashamed of it, so you can just shut the hell up and save it for someone who gives two shits."

Carmen looked taken aback. She gave me the meanest sneer I had ever seen and hissed, "You dirty slut, I don't give a fuck--" Edward put his hand over her mouth and looked extremely pissed off.

"Carmen, it's best that you leave," he said, his voice hard and cutting. But it also sounded like honey, melting chocolate and a musical symphony of violins. I would have listened to that voice. Carmen just rolled her eyes and flipped me off before stomping away. I looked down at Penny and busied myself with putting her back in the cart. She yawned and gazed at me sleepily.

"I wish I would have brought the car seat in," I whispered to her. She yawned again and sucked her thumb, while her other hand played in her hair. I kissed her on the cheek and looked at Edward.

He was watching me, his expression cool and his green eyes bored, no showing of the anger his voice showed before besides the muscle working in his jaw and his clenched fists. I was distracted by the site of his strong arms, the tendons straining and thought about how manly he looked, how delicious and dark and sinister, and how I would love to--

"Sorry about her," he said, his voice husky. Maybe he could see the lust in my eyes that I felt. My panties became embarrassingly damp. Was it crazy of my to find him sexy when he was mad and cold about everything? I liked this dark sinister side. "I've known her since I was 16. Her mom is a family friend. She's like this to every... beautiful girl she feels threatened by."

I was startled. "What?" I asked in disbelief, momentarily distracted from my lust. "She's gorgeous. I can barely pass as pretty." I bit my lip and unconsciously twirled my hair between my fingers.

Edward laughed softly, raising an eyebrow. "You really don't see yourself clearly," he murmured, and the Edward I knew was shining through. I blushed when he brushed my bangs away from my eyes. It was like a line of connection, from my face straight to my crotch. I looked into his smoldering eyes and begged him with my eyes to kiss me.

"Edward!" an annoying voice called out. It was Carmen. "Hurry up with that little girl and let's go." Edward looked startled and stepped away, his eyes back to looking bored and cold.

"Ok, well I guess you should go," I said to Edward, trying to hide my hurt, avoiding his strangely cold gaze. "I have a few other things to do, too, so we should--"

Edward cut my annoying babbling off with a kiss. Whoa. I thought he was too busy hiding things from me to kiss me. I felt a little irritation, but it evaporated. His lips were soft and warm, moving with mine in the most perfect, charming of ways. My knees began to wobble and I pressed my hands against his chest. Edward's mouth moved to my jaw, and he smelled like the familiar Edward that I knew, sweet and icy. His mouth went back on mine, a little more intense than before, and pulled away too soon. He smoothed his thumb over my mouth and turned away, walking towards a pissed off Carmen, who's perfect lips were pursed and her expensive heels tapping. I don't know where the other woman left.

I felt very dizzy and wobbled back to Penny, who was still sucking her thumb and twirling her small finger around her curls. I looked at her, and she looked back. "I have issues," I told her, my voice breathless. "Want to know why Aunt Bella is crazy? I'll be happy to tell you...."

* * *

**A/N: So. There you have it! If you have a problem with Jake all of a sudden being there, save the bitching! And yeah, I know, Edward is kind of being an ass (i say that grudgingly because I tried to keep the ass-ness to a minimum). This is just part of the drama shiz. Also, don't bitch and say "One year olds can't do this or that!" Whatev. And hey, do me a favor? Review and tell me if you are actually reading this story. If no one is really reading, and no one really reviews, I understand. Then that just tells me I don't have to update so soon because nobody is waiting. If I get a decent amount, then I'll know if people are reading this. I don't want to update, use my time and write for nothing even though I enjoy writing. So please, review or I will kill you. (haha just kidding I would never kill you!! I love you too much!) Remember that I love you all!**

**Sugar coated kisses,**

**Lucy**


	17. AN: DISCLAIMER!

**A/N: Hey! Bella-with-the-blue-eyes reminded me of something really important!**

**In earlier chapters that were written like, last year, I used dialog and things like that out of regular books. At the time I didn't think anything was wrong and now I know I could like, get sued! So here is a disclaimer to ANYTHING you noticed that is published or made into a movie:**

**I do not own it, I'm just using it to make my story actually interesting. It ISN'T mine and I'm not pretending it is. And this goes to anything recognizable.**

**Thank you so much sugar. And hey everyone? Please search TwilightWhore under authors and check out her story! I think you'd be interested in her story so far, so go read Heaven Can Wait (I think she's changing the title to Touch of Sin), it has a delicious one night stand and Dark Edward! Go check it out and review!**

**I love you all so so much. *kisses you over screen* I know that by leaving this story for a while, I lost some reviewers which I feel really bad about. I'm not looking to get 7 zillion reviews, which would be nice, but this time, could you please drop a review and let me know if you are reading so I know whether to sit my ass down and update? You won't have to ALWAYS review after that, even though it would be nice, but lol this story is getting really half-assed and I'm totally thinking about wrapping it up.**

**So lemme know. Love you all.**

**--Lucy**


End file.
